Lesson to be learned
by holograffiti
Summary: Rachel and Finn are dating. Maybe. She could also, possibly just be his dirty little secret and that's just no way to treat a lady. Enter Noah Puckerman, his unexpectedly chivalresque side and his... much more expected naughty side...!
1. Chapter 1

**_Disclaimer:_**_  
I don't own anything except my mistakes.  
I might also be responsible for Rachel's somewhat less highstrung vocabulary  
(because, let's face it, I'm just not good enough to write tirades like that!),  
but that might also just be a coincidence. ;)_

_**A/N: **__This was supposed to be a short one chapter-story but as usual, Rachel talked a bit too much and Puck acted out and… It ended up a lot longer than expected.  
For the readers of "Time Heals all Wounds": Don't worry! It's still being written! This is just alittle something I had to get out of my system. ;)_

_As always, Anna, I couldn't do this without you. You're the best BETA ever. Love you!_

_

* * *

_

**Part 1**** – the confession:**  
She came up to him by his truck after Glee practice, asking if she could trouble him for a ride home as her fathers weren't able to pick her up due to work issues.  
He shrugged and offered her a hand in getting into the truck, tossing her big freaking bag (how many goddamn books does she carry with her anyway? Like half the fucking library, judging from the weight! He couldn't help but admire her a little. The chick's fucking tiny, but she's dragging around like 20 pounds of books? Stronger than she looks, for fucking sure!)

She stayed uncharacteristically quiet during the entire drive. As he pulled his truck into her driveway, she finally opened her mouth.

"Noah… Please, do not take this the wrong way, but… You are known to be rather promiscuous…"  
"Yeah, how could I possibly take THAT the wrong way, Berry?..." he quipped.  
"I… uh… I am sorry, I didn't mean to insult you. I thought you regarded your unchaste conduct as a cornerstone in your so called "badassness". I am terribly sorry if I have misinterpreted your signals, and unwillingly offended you…"  
"Chill! The fuck. Yeah, so I've been around the block. Your point?"  
"Well… Would you consent to being seen with me in public after sleeping with me?"  
He tried desperately to keep a straight face, but had serious problems not bursting out laughing.

"Are you offering…?" He graced her with his trademark smirk and lewdly wagged his eyebrows, but the expression in her face and the way her shoulders slumped forwards, sort of curling into themselves as if to protect her heart, silenced him.  
"No, I am not. Not as such."  
"But…?"  
"Well… You see, Noah, the issue at hand is of a rather awkward and delicate nature so…"  
"In English, Berry! Drop the thesaurus for a while, okay?"  
"I apologize. Oh, alright, the thing is that… Finn and I have been dating for quite some time now, as you might be aware…?"  
He cocked an eyebrow at her, because while he knew of their history, he hadn't been privy to the information that there was still something going on between the tiny diva and his quarterback friend.  
"Yeah, kay... Go on."  
"…and since a few months, we have been engaged in… that is… we've been having sex."  
"The fuck?"

She actually let out a small giggle and winked at him as she replied "Some call it that, yes…"  
which made him laugh, but as she continued, her seriousness was back.  
"It's just that Finn is very different when there are people around. He claims that he despises overtly loving gestures, or as he tends to call them, PDA or Public…"  
"I know, Berry. The point?"  
"I think he's ashamed of me."

They sat in silence for a little while.

He was still sort of thrown off by the fact that Rachel and Finn were doing the nasty. For one, he couldn't imagine her and Finn together… He had to be lying alone for like a foot, considering how freakishly tall that dude was, and how tiny Berry was! On the other hand, he had no problem, what so ever, imagining her with himself. (Damn his vivid dreams and their recurring cast, making her his star of the nights.)  
But what the fuck was up with this shit?  
Finn had never said a word about banging Berry and he sure as fuck never showed anything in school… He hardly even spoke to her.  
What a jerk!

The way Puck saw it, you either just fuck and move on or you fuck on a regular basis (and that's pretty much as serious as he, himself, was willing to get) or you were in a relationship where you were like mutually exclusive and shit like that, and in that case you sure as fuck showed it. Hello, walking arm in arm with Berry for a whole week, getting slushied in the process?  
Yeah, badass. Anyhow, whatever you chose it had to be a mutual deal… You couldn't just lead someone on in private and then fuck them over in public. That's not fucking kosher.

Finally, he let out three disbelieving words.

"Saint Finn? Seriously?"  
She actually sneered as she spat out the words.  
"Well… I am officially revoking his halo-wearing rights as of right now!"  
He laughed.  
"Well, Berry. I think we need to teach him a lesson. You game?"  
Her eyes narrowed and her back went rigid and straight. He pretty much expected her to chew him out, but instead she lifted her chin high and stared him right in the eye, simply answering  
"You bet."

* * *

**Part 2 – ****scouting the terrain:  
**The following day, Puck walked up to Finn in the corridor, leaned against the lockers and casually struck up a conversation with the tall quarterback. After chatting a while, he nodded towards Rachel and made sure the surrounding guys heard him as he asked  
"So. Berry. Anything going on with you two now?"

Finn quickly shook his head and spun around to search for something inside his locker. Puck wasn't fooled by the move, because he could see the taller boy's face flushing as he answered  
"Nah, nothing – why?"  
"You sure? Thought I felt a vibe there, dude!" Puck replied casually, even if he was boiling on the inside. Dumb jerk sure as fuck didn't deserve Berry. She might be high-strung, ambitious as hell and sorta abrasive at times, but to be the secret lay of the Golden Boy? She was way better than that.  
Finn laughed nervously, his voice hitching slightly as he said  
"That's like… so over, man. I'm not getting back into that again, you know?"  
"Cool. So then you don't mind if I take her for a spin?" Puck spat out, trying to get his voice to sound disinterested, not betraying how pissed off he felt.  
As Finn told him to go for it, he stretched out the arms he'd folded in front of his chest and nodded quickly at the guys at Finn's locker (and Finn, even if he felt more like punching him in the nose) before he pushed himself off the locker and strode over to where Rachel was standing.

"You hear?"  
"Unfortunately, yes."  
Her eyes were a mixture of tears and blistering anger, so he placed himself between the tiny brunette and the audience staring at them from the spot he'd just left, bracing himself against the lockers with his arm, he leaned in towards her slightly, played with a lock of her hair and made his voice a seductive mumble, making sure Finn and his goons couldn't hear the words, but only the low timbre of his voice. They'd heard it before, and they knew what it meant, so they really didn't need to know that the supposedly panty-dropping line he offered her was a simple order.  
"You're calling your dads and telling them you're riding with me today."  
She stared up at him, her brown eyes wide and her pink tongue wetting her lips nervously. Perfectly in character. (Only Rachel knew that it wasn't something she'd rehearsed, but rather her natural reaction to his hazel eyes that grazed her face, his fingers in her hair and the low, slightly rough voice that sent vibrations through her body, making her feel a little bit dizzy in a very pleasant way…)  
She nodded silently, still looking at him like he was something out of a teenage-magazine (this part, she was proud to admit to herself, no matter how real-looking WAS actually something she'd rehearsed) and he smirked and winked at her, tugged one last time at the lock of her hair that he still held between his fingers, and left.  
She stood still, watching him leave for a little while, before gathering her stuff. She could practically FEEL the gossip mongers starting to run their mouths behind her back as she smiled a secretive little smile to herself on her way to class.

He was standing by her locker as she got out of her last class, flirting with some random Cheerio that seemed intent on having his tongue stuck down her throat in a not too distant future, and who got quite bitchy when he dissed her as soon as Rachel approached.

"Hey babe. Lookin' good! Want a lift?"  
She was rather taken aback for a second (since they had already decided on this, and she'd called her dads to tell them that she would get a ride home with a friend from school. She could hear their joy when they heard that she had a friend.), before she saw Finn moving over at his locker, and understood the ruse, so she offered Puck her most radiant smile, allowed a slight blush to colour her cheeks (well, she WAS a brilliant actress! Of course she could blush on command! Besides, it was really not that hard, when his golden eyes looked at her like that and he licked those annoyingly perfect full lips… Not hard at all, actually.) and answered  
"Why, Noah, how chivalresque of you! I'd be delighted to ride with you, since you are kind enough to offer!"

He laughed and shook his head at her, winking when he leaned in to her ear, placed his hand on the small of her back in an intimate gesture of ownership and softly, in a low voice, told her to  
"Tone down the Jane Austen, Berry… And you look HOT when you blush…"

As if on command, another blush swept over her cheeks and she bit her lower lip, tilted her head and sent him a smile so seductive that he had to remind himself that it was just acting, before his instincts took over and he pressed her up against the locker, making her blush for entirely other (and way more enjoyable) reasons.  
At least he told himself that it was just his instincts…

Gathering up her books, Rachel tried to ignore the strange feeling of a pull in the pit of her stomach. That feeling that made her knees go weak and her mind go blank, the one that often made her feel like she was on the verge of doing something very stupid. Something like jumping off a bridge, stick her hand into a revolving mixer or… stand up on her tippy toes and desperately kiss the gorgeous boy in front of her.

As they reached his truck, he opened the passenger door and lifted her up easily, letting his fingers trace the outside of the thigh as soon as she was seated and he released the grip.  
Lingering for a second, he whispered "They're watching".  
She smiled at him and stroked the muscular arms he lovingly referred to as "guns" with her fingers and straightened herself out while letting her eyes glide over the parking lot as he closed her door, but she couldn't see anyone watching. Maybe he just had better eyes than her.

Arriving at Rachel's house, he didn't bother with helping her down. Not that she really needed the help, but it had felt rather good. As she turned towards him and opened her mouth to thank him for the ride, he smirked at her in that trademark way that had snuck its way into her dreams at nights.  
"Look, Berry. I'm picking you up at nine. We're going to Britt's party. Wear something… Normal?"  
"I have you know that my ensembles are perfectly normal, Noah!" she huffed, indignantly.  
"Sure. For a grandma. You know what I mean. See you."  
And with that, he pulled out of the driveway and left. With her purse, unfortunately.

Luckily, she had a spare key hidden inside her old playhouse, so she fished it out and got inside to do her homework and get ready for the party. The only thing she might have missed from her purse, was her mobile phone, but no one ever called her anyway.

* * *

**Part 3 -**** laying the grounds:  
**She very well understood Puck's comment about her choice of clothes. It wasn't like she'd been deaf, dumb and blind during the last years. Or, you know, ever. She was painfully aware that most of her fellow students found her attire ludicrous and old-fashioned. The problem was that she was a bit too proud to fall for peer-pressure and that her fathers weren't exactly top of the fashion class, and rarely let her do her own clothes shopping. It happened on occasion but not often enough, and she realized that it was probably time that she put her foot down on the subject. After all, she was old enough to choose her own wardrobe.

Digging through her clothes cabinet and coming up pretty much empty, she was more assertive than ever. A change would have to take place, and while Noah might offer up a first baby step by pretending that she wasn't an embarrassment to him (he almost made her believe it!) she would have to do a lot of the work for herself.

Finally, after going through every single garment of clothing she owned a couple of times, she'd pulled out a pair of dark blue jeans that fit her like a glove. She paired them with a simple but well fitting, rather slim white t-shirt and a black military style jacket and a pair of black flats. Staring at herself in the mirror, she decided that she needed something a little bit… more… so she added a white, grey and silver-striped scarf and a few silver bracelets. As the final touch, she applied a little rose tinted lip gloss that made her plump lips look luscious, if she'd dare say so herself.

Once done, she told her fathers she was going to a party and would get picked up soon. (They looked at her rather strangely at first, but finally told her that she looked nice.) Guessing that Puck would probably bring her purse back, she'd still paired her outfit with a smaller model that she thought would be suitable for a party, so she sat down on the porch swing and lazily pushed the seat backwards and let it swing freely until it almost stopped and then repeated.

At ten past nine, she started wondering. At a quarter past nine, she got cold and went inside. At twenty-five past nine, she was on the verge of tears. He'd stood her up.

Her fathers looked at her, their eyes full of pity, and they offered her a cup of tea. She hated the condoling tone of their voices so she declined and started walking upstairs to her room, when a rapid series of knocks resounded through the house.  
Her father opened and she heard Noah's voice.  
"Um… Hi, sir. Is Rachel here?"  
"She is, but I am unsure…"  
Rachel stepped in between the boy and her protective father and just stared at the handsome, hazel eyed boy who stood before her in a pair of loosely fitting, torn jeans and a flannel shirt over a black tank top.  
"Good evening Noah, what may I be of service with?"  
"Ready to go?"  
"I was ready half an hour ago. I am quite positive I no longer wish to attend the soiree at your arm, Noah."  
He furrowed his brows and pressed his mouth into a thin line, obviously annoyed with her for some reason she could not for the life of her fathom.  
"The fu… Um… I mean – I told you. I had to babysit. Check your texts much?"  
"Wha… Oh… I forgot my purse in your truck…"  
He stared at her, but then burst out laughing.  
"In that case, my truck has been quite popular this evening…"  
He winked at her and she felt her resolve to stay at home vanish into thin air.  
Fetching her purse, he stood back, arms crossed over his chest, and watched her while she read the three new texts that had arrived since she'd left his truck in the afternoon.

"_Nvm the clothes thing. UR skirts r fine. Hot legs. ;)"_

"_Yo, B. Need 2 babysit. Will b l8."_

"_BT 930 CU soon."_

She looked up to find him staring at her.  
"Fuck Berry, this…" he motioned to her body in the unfamiliar outfit. "Totally hot too."  
He winked and smirked at her, but then obediently followed her inside to shake hands with her fathers, promise to have her home at two and to drive responsibly. He even wished them a good night and added "Don't worry. I'll take care of her!" in his most charming voice.

She didn't stop giggling until after he'd helped her get into the truck and he'd fastened his seat belt on the other side of her.  
"WHAT?"  
"You sound so responsible, Noah! Quite out of character…"  
"Well… If we're doing this thing, we'd better do it properly."  
She tried to answer, but he'd already started the truck and put it in reverse and the stereo started automatically at ear-splitting level.

* * *

As they entered Brittany's house, all eyes turned towards them. Puck (while used to turning heads) wasn't sure whether it was the combination of the two of them or if it was just Rachel looking fucking hot in those slim jeans and that top that revealed her trim figure. He found the party rather dull. Seeing these people getting trashed and silly, while he himself was sober, was a new experience and he wasn't sure he liked it. Actually, he was pretty sure he didn't, but he didn't know whether the best solution would be to get a buzz for himself, or to just not hang with these guys.  
He shook that thought out of his head. These were his FRIENDS after all.  
Rachel had been cornered by Quinn, and he could tell by her stance that she was extremely uncomfortable, so he sauntered over there and smirked down at Quinn with a "Mind if I steal away Berry?" and then stuck his hand into Rachel's and pulled her away without waiting for a response.  
They got out into the kitchen when they first spotted Finn. Her eyes got a bit distraught and Puck didn't like that at all. He lifted her up and sat her down on the countertop and placed himself between her thighs, his arms leaning on the counter in a way that made them encircle her slender waist and that made his face come dangerously close to hers. Dangerous because her lips were glossy, flushed and full in a way that made her look like she had been thoroughly kissed. He tossed caution to the wind and leaned in even closer, kissing her neck and gently nipping at her earlobe. Suddenly her hands were moving over his neck and head, tangling into the locks of his mohawk. He caught her eye and slowly leaned in towards her tempting mouth. Her pink tongue ran over her lips again as she tilted her head lightly to the side, and that was the only invitation he needed.  
When his lips captured hers and his tongue touched hers, she moaned into his mouth and he felt himself grow hard and his skin tingle. Oblivious to the world, he pulled her legs in around his hips and she got the hint, lacing them behind his back, so when he straightened up, she hung around his waist and he pushed her against the wall, pressing his hardness into her, letting one hand hold up her fine round ass while the other entwined in her hair.

A weird noise tried but failed to penetrate his lust filled haze.  
He groaned when she broke the kiss, and her hips that had been moving slightly against him suddenly stilled completely. She undid her legs and slid down his body, her forehead leaning against his broad chest as he heard it again.  
"Get a room, for fuck's sake!"  
Santana was staring at them, her eyes flaming with anger, as she saw her once-boyfriend in the arms of Rachel Berry. As if she didn't hate the girl enough already.  
He cocked an eyebrow towards the Latina and slowly nodded.  
"Smartest thing you ever said, Satan!"

He lifted Rachel up in one swift move and carried her, fireman style, towards his truck while she hung laughing and smacking his butt playfully as they exited the party.

Once in the truck, she started giggling hysterically and turned to him with her eyes glittering with laughter. Her amusement died instantly when he leaned in and crushed his lips to hers, kissing her deeply and desperately.

"Shit, Rache… I want you. So bad."

Her eyes grew big as the words computed in her head.


	2. Chapter 2

**_Disclaimer:_**_  
I don't own anything except my mistakes.  
I might also be responsible for Rachel's somewhat less highstrung vocabulary  
(because, let's face it, I'm just not good enough to write tirades like that!),  
but that might also just be a coincidence. ;)_

_**A/N: **__This was supposed to be a short one chapter-story but as usual, Rachel talked a bit too much and Puck acted out and… It ended up a lot longer than expected.  
For the readers of "Time Heals all Wounds": Don't worry! It's still being written! This is just alittle something I had to get out of my system. ;)_

_As always, Anna, I couldn't do this without you. You're the best BETA ever. Love you!_

_SMUT ahead so if you're offended by that, please don't read._

_

* * *

_

**Part 4**** – aftermath:**

He'd driven her home after a detour to the movies. Nothing had happened, except a few stealth kisses in the dark of the movie theatre and a few more (rather chaste ones, as she had a feeling her fathers were probably watching them behind the swaying curtain) as he dropped her off at her door promptly at half past one.  
She'd tried talking about what happened at the party but he'd avoided the topic so she'd let it fall, accepting his silence as he smiled and caressed her cheek, telling her that he'd ("fucking unfortunately!") be at his aunt's place for a family birthday party during the rest of the weekend but promising to pick her up before school on Monday.  
"Don't misplace your phone, okay, Berry?"  
He'd waited until she was inside before he'd pulled out of the driveway and headed home.

Come Monday, Rachel felt slightly nauseous. She knew that there would be consequences of them being seen together in general, their very public make-out session in particular. Puck showed up at her door as promised and they rode to school in silence.

Once there, he jumped down and came to her side, catching her as she exited the truck. Holding her flush against his body, he let her slide down slowly, every hard inch of his muscular body pressed against her soft curves while they rubbed together. As soon as her feet hit the ground, he slammed the door behind her and pressed her up against it, crushing her mouth with his. She felt his strong fingers digging into the sides of her thighs and her hips in a deliciously rough way that made her knees weak and when his mouth left hers and he slowly pulled the hem of her shirt down, flicking one button open with his fingers as he leaned in painfully leisurely and kissed her collarbone, the beating of her heart drowned out all other sounds except the hoarse timbre of his voice as he groaned into her skin.

They pulled apart as a car horn honked repeatedly just behind them and Rachel found her shoulder bag on the ground beside them, where she'd dropped it during his ministrations. She hadn't even noticed. Her hands shook slightly when she started buttoning her shirt again, but Puck caught her hands and looked at her with those liquid eyes, telling her to  
"Don't. Leave it. Let'em see you're mine."

She looked down and realised that her skin was slightly discoloured just above the lining of the neck, where he'd bitten her and left a hickey.  
For some reason she couldn't quite explain, it turned her on immensely that he'd want to go all alpha male on her like that, so she tilted her head in the way she'd noticed that he reacted to, looking up at him through her thick lashes, sweetly telling him "Your wish is my command…"

He groaned again:  
"Say that again and we'll never get to class."

They made it into the school after just a few more kisses, and several more honks, whistles and cat calls. For Rachel, being almost-late to class was something previously unprecedented, but it sort of made her feel good. Like she was more laidback, careless and "normal teenager'ish" than usual, but maybe that was just the residual effect of being kissed into oblivion by Noah.

She wasn't quite sure she was supposed to react the way she did to his nearness. She also wasn't very sure they were actually supposed to be "making out" (as he called it) when the others weren't around, the way they had at the movies on Friday. She was, however, very sure that right now – she didn't care one bit. She thoroughly enjoyed the sensations his skilled hands sent through her body as they lingered for one second too long on the outside of her breast, or the way they halted to a stop for a second or two on her thigh as he adjusted the hem of her skirt, or how his fingers seemed to slip just inside the lower edge of her shirt and caress the thin skin on the sides of her waist when he held her, making blazes of heat rush through her in the most delicious way. (She also enjoyed her very vivid visions of what else he would be able to make her feel, in private, since those small, seemingly innocent touches had her breathless and feeling electrified. Finn never ever affected her this way, even after a whole night of touching in ways that were so much more intimate. Or were supposed to be, anyway.)

She was starting to realize that she was playing with fire, and for once, Rachel Miriam Berry didn't care in the slightest if she'd get burned in the process. She intended to enjoy the heat while it lasted.

* * *

Finn caught up with her between classes, just minutes after she'd received a text from Puck saying that he was in Figgins' office, cornered by the principal and the guidance counsellor and forced to "discuss my fucking attitude again!".  
She should have expected as much, but she'd already grown accustomed to having Puck by her side, making her feel untouchable. Karofsky and Azimio were already making eyes, noting that she was yet again free to be slushied, she suspected.  
Finn's arrival gave her respite, but she didn't know whether a slushie hadn't been better, compared to the puppy eye look he sported as he started grilling her about her relationship with the school badass stud.

"Hi Rachel…"  
"Hello Finn."  
"Where's Puck?" a smug smile grazed his lips, making her even more sure that he knew all about Puck's whereabouts. She sincerely hoped he didn't orchestrate the "intervention" because Puck WOULD find out and things would get ugly.  
"He will be here shortly, I am sure. What can I do for you today, Finn?"  
"What are you doing with him?  
"I beg your pardon? I am sure I don't know what you are referring to."  
"You. And Puck. The two of you dry humping at Britt's party. Class act."  
She could feel the anger washing over her in waves as he spoke. This coming from the boy who lost his virginity to Santana in a cheap motel room and followed it up by getting the girl a take-away burger and then dropping her like last year's fashion?  
"My relationship with Noah is none of your concern." she snapped, standing as tall as she could and staring the tall quarterback straight in the eye.  
"It IS my concern!"  
"Oh, pray tell, dear Finn why that is so?"  
"Because he's just using you.  
Her peripheral vision picked up a familiar shape closing in, and she delivered her last line to Finn before spinning around and walking towards it.  
"As opposed to what you were doing?"  
She had the satisfaction of seeing him blush deeply, and she rounded up their conversation with an ice cold voice as she said  
"Did it ever occur to you that the so called using might be very, VERY mutual…?"

She left him with his mouth hanging open as she walked across the hall, meeting Puck halfway between their lockers and lacing her hands between his neck. Standing on her tippy toes, she kissed the mohawked boy with all she had and he took what she offered, giving as good as he was getting. Groaning into her mouth, he held her waist and leaned into her as he backed her into the closest locker, pressing her back against the cold metal and her chest into his muscular warmth.

Breaking the kiss, he looked into her eyes. His own were alight with fire and slight surprise.  
"What's that all about?"  
She took a deep breath, seeing Finn still standing at her locker where she left him, staring at them with disbelief, anger and something she interpreted as hurt pride. Moving her focus back to the boy whose body held her captive against the lockers, his hands trailing down her sides and mouth kissing her neck as he awaited her answer, she smiled.  
"Let's get out of here." was all she said, and being Noah Puckerman, he didn't resist.

She laughed as his truck pulled out of the parking lot. This was her first time missing class without an excuse and it felt GOOD!

* * *

**Part 5 – day off****:**

They ended up at his house. His mom was at work and his sister was at school, so they flopped down into the couch and played COD for a while.  
Actually, he flopped down on the couch and pulled out the game controllers while she stood primly by and watched until he told her to "sit the fuck down and chill out", which is when she placed her well formed behind on the couch beside him and asked how to play. He taught her and of course, like with everything else, she learned it quickly, mastered it in no time and they ended up having a good time playing until he tossed his controller onto the floor and just pulled her into a kiss.  
"I've been wanting to do that since we left school" he said with a wink.  
She surprised him when she cocked an eyebrow back at him, straddled his lap and purred  
"Then why didn't you?"

That was all it took. He grabbed her fine round ass with both hands and held her down, pressing her into his rapidly hardening cock and crushed his mouth down on hers. Her lips parted immediately and he let his tongue run along them, tasting her unique flavour that reminded him of mint and chocolate all at once. A rich, sweet tinge that had him wanting more, so he delved his tongue into her mouth and as his tongue caressed hers, he felt her hips starting to move against him.  
"Mhmmm… Fuck, you feel good!"

His hands slipped in underneath the hem of her skirt and slowly worked their way up her thighs. She tugged at his t-shirt and pulled it over his head, leaned back and admired his chiselled torso before starting to drag her fingers across his chest and abs. When she stopped to gently pull at his nipple ring, he could swear he'd rip the zipper in his jeans soon unless he got out of them, so he lifted her up over his shoulder and carried her up the stairs. Once in his room, he still didn't put her down at first, but instead let his free hand roam over the back of her thighs and the roundness of her protruding ass as she hung so close to his face.  
Giving her ass a slap for good measure (which caused her to giggle. Note to self: she's not as delicate as she looks.) he put her down on the edge of his bed.

Kneeling in front of her, he ran his hands up her arms, swiping his fingers across her neck and collar bone as he reached the top. He noticed that her nipples hardened at the touch and slowly dragged his finger down to the edge of her shirt, tugging at it slightly, and undoing yet another button. (The hickey she wore, still with the button he'd undone before class open, made him feel territorial in a way he wasn't used to, but one that made his blood run faster so he figured it was okay.)  
He paused then, leaned in to kiss the smooth skin just beneath her collar bone and then he nipped at her earlobe, which had her letting out a shaky breath.  
"So…"  
He laced his fingers with hers and winked as he placed them lightly in the apex of his thighs.  
"…this is what you do to me, Rache… But I'm not sure where this is going?"  
Needing to make sure he didn't cross any boundaries, he let go of her hand and expected her to pull it away from where he'd placed it. Instead, she moved her thumb across his hardness, making the coiled heat in his stomach twitch and swirl, igniting him even further. His eyes closed involuntarily at the sensation, and when he opened them again, she looked into them, that sexy, seductive smile on her lip and as her thumb kept grazing the contours of his hard cock, she slowly parted her legs and inched her skirt up slightly with her other hand.  
"I want you Noah…"

The words were breathless and barely audible, but he felt them as much as he heard them.  
Parting her legs even more, he caressed the insides of her thighs with his calloused fingers and then replaced them with his tongue as he spread hot kisses from the curve of her ankles to the back of her knee and all the way up the smooth, thin skin on the inside of her thighs. He stopped for a second to meet her eyes before he lowered his mouth down to kiss her hot, wet center. Slowly rubbing his fingers across her folds, he watched her face flush and her eyes fall closed at the same time as her mouth opened and she let out a throaty moan.  
Inching her panties down her legs, he continued his careful strokes across her pussy but he knew he needed to see her eyes.  
"Babe… Watch me."  
He whispered against her wetness as his tongue flicked out and teased her clit. Her entire body shook as the pleasure sent shockwaves through her, and her eyes were still shut so he repeated the order, a little louder this time. She reluctantly opened her eyes and looked down to see him kissing her opening, sliding his tongue inside her and back out before he sucked her clit into his mouth.

Watching him, seeing his tongue and lips work her sensitive nub made her even hotter than before and when he slid one digit inside her while he still licked her clit, it made her wonder how long she could go on before she'd come. He smiled a predatory smile that told her that he knew exactly what he did to her, and that he loved it. Another finger joined the first one and he started to push them in and pull them back out while curving them towards him.  
Following the rhythm of her panting, his tongue kept licking up her wetness as his fingers probed her deeper and harder, and his other hand swept upwards and found one of her puckered nipples, pinching it lightly and flicking at it with his finger. She arched against him and whispered "Please… please…!"

He sucked her clit into his mouth and bit down on it lightly just as a third finger pushed into her and he scissored all thee of them inside her. That was the last drop and her body fell backwards into a wide arch as she shook with ecstasy and cried out her release.

She was fucking gorgeous when she came. He imprinted that vision in his mind for later, as he kissed her sensitive pussy once more, making her shudder, and then watched her slowly manoeuvring her way upwards in his bed. As she finally rested her head against his pillows, her hair was unkempt, her cheeks flushed and her eyes hooded. She looked horny beyond words and he was so fucking turned on that his cock hurt where it pressed against the restriction of his pants. Slowly zipping down, he kicked off his jeans and socks, leaving him in nothing but his boxers. She offered him a lazy smile and he held her eye as he pushed the fabric off of his hips and down his thighs. As soon as the offending material was on the floor, he took his hard dick in his hand and fisted it slowly, still watching her. A low moan from her lips made him bolder and he kneeled beside her, bending down to latch his mouth onto her nipple, while his hand still travelled slowly over the length of his hardness.  
Her hand suddenly fell on top of his and she sat up as she took his cock in her hands and started moving it up and down, her thumb flicking over the sensitive head. When her other hand curled around his balls, he groaned.  
"Fuuuuck. Rachel. Yes, so fucking good!"

She leaned in to kiss him and pushed him back onto his haunches. Sitting in front of him, she slung her calves across his thighs and he took that as an invitation to finger her pussy again. She was even wetter now and he finger fucked her slowly as her hands ran over his erection, their mouths making a series of moans punctuated by searing kisses.

He grabbed her wrists and pulled her hands away when he felt the sizzling snake of impending release starting to move, whispering to her to wait.  
"I want you, Noah… Please…"

He held on to the pause as long as he knew he'd have to, while kissing her lips, breasts and neck, and then he reached for a condom, rolled it on quickly and flipped her onto her back, as he hovered above her, his hands till running all over her body, worshipping its curves and planes.  
Holding her eye while he slowly pushed into her, he filled her up completely. She moaned out his name and yet again, her eyes fell closed on their own accord. Her pouty mouth was red and swollen from all the kisses and when it fell open the way it did now, her breaths jagged and her teeth biting into her bottom lip as he moved in her, he thought that he'd never seen anything more beautiful. Until she opened her eyes and her hot gaze locked with his.  
"You're so fucking beautiful, Rache. Come for me… Please…"  
His deft fingers moved in between them and he wiggled them against her clit in a way that made her inner muscles start to clench and her breaths to become even more irregular.

Digging her nails into his lower back, she slung her legs around his hips, forcing him to fuck her even harder, faster and deeper – which he didn't mind at all. Her tight, hot pussy felt like heaven and he knew he'd come so hard he forgot his own name, and very soon. However, he wanted to make sure she got there first, so he pushed into her lower back, angling her so that he hit her g-spot with every thrust. Kissing and nipping at the pulse point of her neck, and still rubbing at her clit, he beckoned her  
"Let go, baby. Just come for me. I'm so fucking close…!"  
and like that, she exploded in another searing orgasm that pulled him with her.

He thought that his name on her lips as she came apart, was more amazing than anything she'd ever sung.


	3. Chapter 3

**_Disclaimer:_**_  
I don't own anything except my mistakes.  
I might also be responsible for Rachel's somewhat less highstrung vocabulary  
(because, let's face it, I'm just not good enough to write tirades like that!),  
but that might also just be a coincidence. ;)_

_**A/N: **__This was supposed to be a short one chapter-story but as usual, Rachel talked a bit too much and Puck acted out and… It ended up a lot longer than expected.  
For the readers of "Time Heals all Wounds": Don't worry! It's still being written! This is just alittle something I had to get out of my system. ;)_

_As always, Anna, I couldn't do this without you. You're the best BETA ever. Love you!_

_

* * *

_

**Part 6 – word gets around:  
**One thing that was common knowledge at McKinley high was the Puck-got-laid-look (also known as his "I tapped that-face". The face Santana once had professed to owning, which had confused Brittany immensely.) so when Rachel and Puck arrived the next day, her arm in the crook of his elbow and both of them sporting smug smiles (actually, Puck's smile was smug whilst Rachel's was more dazed and amazed.) there was no question in anyone's minds whether or not the diva and the jock were doing the nasty.

Jacob Ben-Israel had a special feature up in a matter of minutes, where photos of Rachel and Puck (taken with his cell phone, which had been scary enough if there hadn't been one of them at the movies from Friday. Now THAT was creepy!) showed off their journey. The headline read "Rachel Berry gets Pucked" which actually had Puck in stitches, but didn't amuse Rachel at all.  
There was a sort-of-follow-up story as well. It said "Finn Hudson back to being most eligible bachelor?" and speculated on his relationship with Rachel and how and why it went down the drain. The punch line went something along the lines of Finn being back on the bench now that Puck had stepped in to "fill up his position…s". Rachel actually cursed under her breath, and told Puck that she should have known that Ben-Israel knew about her secret relationship with Finn. She was just relieved that there were no photos. Then again, how could there have been, considering how Finn hadn't even held her hand in public and how he'd called her his girlfriend while they were in his or her room (where they only met up if no one saw them. He'd actually called it off a few times because he'd met someone he knew on his way over.) but ignored her in public.

She was starting to wonder what kind of spineless person Finn really was, considering that Puck wasn't afraid to be seen making out with her – and Finn was terrified of even giving her a hug if anyone was around to maybe see it.

Stepping outside her last class for the day, Puck was waiting for her, reclining against the wall and grinning at her as soon as she looked up. His smile faded as he saw her frown.  
"Hey, babe – wazzup?"  
She pulled him to the side and stood silent for a few seconds, staring at her shoes, before she talked, still not meeting his eye  
"Why… Why aren't you ashamed of me, Noah?"  
"The fuck… Why should I?"  
"Because I am the laughing stock of the school. I am the abrasive, too ambitious, in your face-confident, overly critical and, I guess, nerdy chick. You're popular, handsome and talented. You play sports and you have your own pool-cleaning business. You have so much going for you, even if you might be a bit on the slack side, and being seen with me can't be beneficial for the "rep" you are so careful to maintain… I'm…"  
He cut her off by pulling her into his body, holding her tight and kissing her passionately.  
When he let go, he cocked an eyebrow down at her and smirked.  
"That's why. That and… I like you."

She looked absolutely flabbergasted at that statement but before she could oppose it, he caught her around the waist and lifted her up, pushing her against the wall and holding her steady in place with his own body. His mouth slanted down on top of hers and his tongue played with hers in that way that made her feel as if she was being electrocuted in a crazy, pleasurable way. She slid her legs around his trim hips and kissed him back, moaning as she felt his arousal pressing into her.

They were abruptly cut off as a series of clicks from a cell phone entered their private sphere, and then a big hand slammed into the wall next to Rachel's head.  
Finn. His eyes blazing with anger.  
"You're a jerk!"  
Puck's eyebrows flew upwards and his mouth was agape before he collected himself, placed Rachel on the ground beside him and offered the taller boy a disdainful smirk.  
"Yeah? And why's that?"  
"You're always stealing my girlfriends! First Quinn, now Rachel!"

Puck shook his head at that remark and frowned in a theatrical manner  
"Rachel? I thought you said there was nothing going on between the two of you?"  
"Yeah, well… You knew."  
"Maybe I did. And maybe I wanted her too. Maybe I thought she deserved better than being someone's dirty little secret? Maybe I fucking LIKE her, you dumb piece of shit! Maybe I like hanging with her and to actually be seen with her, and not just fuck her and then leave, like you do?"  
"No way is she sleeping with you, Puck. I'm dumb but I'm not that stupid."  
"You bet your scrawny ass that she is! She loves every minute of it, and you know… Unlike you, I'm not done after the warm-up. I'm fucking Puckzilla! She doesn't even remember her own name when I fuck her – and she definitely doesn't remember yours!"

Finn's fist landed on Puck's chin before anyone had any time to react, but Puck was the WMHS Fight Club King. No way would Finn ever beat him. Fortunately for Finn, Puck wasn't in the mood to fight his best friend over a girl again, so he just dodged and swerved the punches until Finn gave up. Unfortunately for Finn, the commotion had drawn quite a crowd and everyone had heard his outburst. People were looking at him rather strangely. (And of course, Ben-Israel were filming the entire ordeal.)

Unfortunately for Puck, Rachel had also heard every single word and while she enjoyed being liked, she didn't enjoy having her private affairs laid out before the entire school.  
She'd left sometime between the last word and the first (and only, thanks to his reflexes) punch.  
Fuck!

It didn't take Ben-Israel five minutes to get the movie onto YouTube.  
Puck was pretty sure he was royally fucked.

* * *

**Part 7 – revelations:**  
He couldn't find her anywhere. He even sent Brittany into the several ladies rooms looking for her. (He told her that it was a treasure hunt and she was quite disappointed when she didn't find Rachel, thus uncovering the treasure. He bribed her with his last Twinkie and he was pretty sure she'd forgotten her former sadness a second after she'd walked away. She was great that way.)  
Finally, he got into his truck and drove to her house.

He saw her just as he pulled into her street. She'd been walking home.  
"Crazy Berry" he muttered to himself, but he couldn't help but smile. His girl was nothing if not determined. And yeah, he figured she was his girl. Unless she' chew his head off now, in which case she'd probably be his former girl/the girl who emasculated him or something equally fucked up. He sure as fuck hoped she'd listen to reason, even if he knew the chances were small for two reasons:  
1. Rachel Berry never listened. To reason or to anything else, really.  
2. He wasn't exactly known for stating things that were reasonable. More like the opposite, usually.

He pulled into the driveway and hopped out of his truck just as she arrived.  
Stopping dead, she put her hands on her hips and just stared at him, not saying a single word.  
He cleared his throat and tried…  
"M'sorry Rache. I shouldn't have… said that."  
"No, you should not have. Still, you did and to top it off, you did so in front of half of the student population of McKinley High. Quite loudly and colourfully, I might add."  
He opened his mouth to answer, but she cut him off again.  
"However, I am rather proud that you kept your anger constrained and refrained from hitting Finn, even after he decided against a peaceful solution. I am also ironically turned on by your bad-boy image and while it might have been ill advised and quite chauvinistic to state our affairs in front of so many onlookers, contrary to my own expectations, I have to admit to being rather flattered by your willingness to claim me as your beau. …however much I wish that your language in doing so might have been less crude."  
Puck shook his head and scratched his neck absentmindedly, trying to make sense of the litany from the tiny brunette's lips. She saw his confusion and laughed.  
"While your wording may have been crass, your intent wasn't. I appreciate it."  
"You mentioned being turned on…" he winked at her and shot her a wide grin.  
"I did, didn't I? Well, you'll just have to accompany me into my house and see about that, now won't you?"

He did. And he saw. He did a whole bunch of seeing, until she sent him home because her dads would be home soon. He got into his truck and headed home with a huge grin on his face and a head full of buzzing visions of a naked, horny and gorgeous Rachel Berry coming apart under him again and again, while chanting out his name.  
He KNEW Finn never made her feel like that and he was fucking proud of himself.  
At least he figured that was why he felt so giddy.

His mom stared at him as they had dinner. He finally got bugged out and grunted out a "What?" but she just smiled and shook her head. She stopped staring but he felt her sneaking glances of him every so often. Finally, he put down his fork and cocked his eyebrows.  
"Just say it. What?"  
"You look… happy, Noah!"  
He felt his cheeks flushing. The fuck? The Puckerone didn't fucking blush like a girl! Still, it happened, and his mom's smile was positively radiating when she firmly stated  
"You're in love!"  
"The fuck I am!" he growled back.  
"Language, Noah!"  
He cleared the table and dried the dishes in silence, while his mom washed up and put away the leftovers, all the while singing a sappy love song that made his insides wanna jump out and strangle him.

Back in his room, however, he started to wonder.

* * *

**Part 8 – coming ****to terms:  
**Her phone beeped later that evening and as Noah's name popped up across the screen, she felt herself smile involuntarily. She told herself it was the afterglow from the sensational sex they'd been having, but no matter how hard she tried to ignore the bubbly warm feeling he ignited in the pit of her stomach, she kind of couldn't because… Lately, he had been on her mind a lot, that feeling of being filled with heated soda never far away.

"_Hi babe. Tmrw = movie night. U in?"_

He'd agonized over that message for half a n hour. Not knowing what to write, and all of a sudden mulling over what to call her. He'd tried "Berry", "Rachel", "Rache" and "hun" but nothing worked, so he'd finally settled for babe. Once that was done, he hadn't known what he wanted to tell her, just that he wanted to tell her something. It was like this itch that he needed to scratch, the way his phone just lay there and stared at him with that dark display. It lit up a few times during the evening, but it was mostly stupid fucking texts from people who had seen the video of him and Finn hashing it out on YouTube and wanted to congratulate him for banging Berry or scald him for stealing her from Finn (the fuck?) or… in some cases (more or less anonymously) tell him that they were still available for a shag if he grew tired of Rachel. Shit like that.  
After trying out several different texts, none of them too specific or committal, he'd decided that he pretty much just wanted to see her and since he had a bunch of un-seen movies in a stack at his desk that became his inspiration.

He just hoped to whatever god might be listening that she wasn't one of those chicks who only watched romantic comedies and spent the entire evening swooning over fuckfaces like Hugh Grant or Matthew McCon…whateverhisnameis and dudes like that, because that shit is just a fucking mood killer.

She smiled as she read the short text, and immediately started typing a reply. It took her a little while. Regardless of how proficient she was at writing eloquent and witty replies, this one made her hesitate. Everything she wrote seemed either too intimate or too distant, it wasn't witty enough or she just perceived herself as desperate, stuck-up or her wording was of the kind he referred to as "thesaurus'y" as she reviewed what she'd written. After a few minutes, she punched in a short reply and sent it without allowing herself to second guess it.  
It read _"I'd love to. What can I bring? /R*"_

He laughed at the star at the end, but flipped the phone closed and stomped upstairs as his mom shot him another one of THOSE glances and smiled to herself.

Made him fucking sick, he thought to himself, sternly, but all along a tiny smile he couldn't suppress curled the corners of his mouth. As he exited the room, his mom pressed her hand to her heart and beamed with happiness at the sight of her little boy, finally mellowing down.  
She'd been so afraid that he'd turn out like his dad, but this new, gentler side to Noah – this was a whole new story. Or rather an old one.  
This was the Noah she'd known before his dad walked out on them, leaving the young boy lost, confused and rapidly hardening into a bully who spoke through his fists. She knew about his reputation, she'd known all along.  
She'd just held on to her hope and now it finally seemed as if hope might prevail after all.

After Rachel sent her text to Puck, she lay down on her bed, reclined against her myriad of fluffy pillows and she started thinking. What was it with this boy? Why did he make her feel safe, when he should do the exact opposite? He had been the school bully and her personal tormentor for so long, and still he made her feel untouchable whenever her hand was tucked away in the crook of his elbow, or as long as he was within reach at all actually.  
Slowly recanting, she started to wonder how long he had made her feel that way and what she came up with startled her.

This went way back. Back to before they went out for that brief week when he sang Sweet Caroline to her in front of Glee-club. Before she washed slushie out of his 'hawk and he'd told her how sorry he was that he'd ever done that to her. Way before he'd cried into her shoulder as Beth was being adopted and he never got the chance to even try to prove himself better than his father. Even before he'd first intercepted an incoming slushie attack and told the other jocks that she was off limits, because Finn cared for her.

It probably went back to that afternoon when he'd stayed behind as the rest of the jocks exited school grounds and she was sitting in the bleachers, cheeks tear stained and clothes pink from yet another slushie facial for which she hadn't brought a change.

He'd just sat down beside her, looked at her through the corner of his eye and rifled through his gym bag for a dry towel and a clean white t-shirt, dumped them both unceremoniously on the seat beside her and jogged off with a "See ya, Berry."  
That was the day before he first stepped between her and the jocks, and the first time in a long time she'd been dry all through the day.  
She remembered his slight nod as she was granted free passing, but he never got his towel or t-shirt back. She'd tried handing them to him, but he'd avoided her and she'd finally given up, assuming he didn't want to be seen with her so instead she'd stored them in a M&S-bag in the back of her closet ever since. She decided on bringing the plastic bag along to movie night.

He sent her a new text as soon as he got up to his room and lay comfortably on his sloppily made bed.  
_"Just bring u. :)"  


* * *

_

**Part 9 – settling in:**  
They walked hand in hand in to school the following day. He'd picked her up as he'd quickly become used to (his grades would probably go up from his new attendance alone if he didn't mess up too badly) and they'd sat in comfortable silence, her hand on his thigh, his hand on hers while the ride lasted. Once at WMHS, he'd picked up her bag and tossed it over his shoulder before he snuck his hand into hers and grinned at her as he squeezed it a little.

He even followed her into math class, sliding into the seat next to hers and scowling at anyone who commented on his presence. Of course, he hadn't brought his books or pens, so Rachel slipped him a few sheets of notebook paper and a pen, and charmed the teacher into loaning him a book.  
He spent the first part of the class mostly writing notes to her, making her smile and blush, but every now and then he'd actually concentrate and try to figure out the numbers in front of him. After a little while, he realized that he actually understood and that he thought it was fun. Getting the numbers to add up was like a detective story to him and the little clues were all on the paper. He added and subtracted, chewed his pen and jotted down the results, surprising himself every time he got it right, which he did more often than he'd ever have expected. Rachel looked at him out of the corner of her eye, he knew. He could feel her gaze as if it was an actual touch, and he cocked and eyebrow in her general direction when she made big eyes at him as he figured out a difficult problem and proudly wrote down the answer.

Behind him, the math teacher had been ready to strike down, seeing him get the answers right but believing that he'd cheated off of Rachel, but seeing him solving it all on his own proved that he was actually quite proficient when it came to arithmetic and the woman sauntered of after making a mental note to herself that she was going to try and get Noah Puckerman into class more often, since he showed such promise.

When the teacher called his name at the end of the class, Rachel was about to leave, but he took her hand and held it. No way was he gonna let it go unnoticed the one time the teacher called him for a nice reason. Usually it was something he'd done but this time, he was pretty sure it wasn't anything bad.  
It wasn't. She was impressed with how easily he'd been able to sum up the equations, not even using a calculator, and she told him that he'd only have to attend the rest of the classes to pass, and if he was willing to do two extra curricular assignments he could get a pretty good grade. Rachel was beaming at him as they left and he felt pretty fucking fantastic, himself.  
He wasn't just a dumb jock. He was a badass math genius! Who knew?

They had lunch together at the bleachers. Finn was sitting with the jocks and Ben-Israel hovered over by the Gleeks so they decided that somewhere outside the cafeteria would be a better idea. He had a salad and when she asked him about it, he grumbled something about her not wanting to kiss him after he'd eaten meat, since she was a fucking vegan.  
"Call me pussy whipped, but I wanna make out for dessert, okay?" he laughed when she blushed and smiled at him at the confession.

Dessert took its sweet time and when they arrived at Glee class, they were slightly late and rather mussed. Brittany saw them entering, cast one glance at their adjoined hands and happily exclaimed  
"Yay! You found Rachel's treasure!"

She never understood what made the other Gleeks double over with laughter.


	4. Chapter 4

**_Disclaimer:_**_  
I don't own anything except my mistakes.  
I might also be responsible for Rachel's somewhat less highstrung vocabulary  
(because, let's face it, I'm just not good enough to write tirades like that!),  
but that might also just be a coincidence. ;)_

_**A/N: **__This was supposed to be a short one chapter-story but as usual, Rachel talked a bit too much and Puck acted out and… It ended up a lot longer than expected.  
For the readers of "Time Heals all Wounds": Don't worry! It's still being written! This is just alittle something I had to get out of my system. ;)_

_As always, Anna, I couldn't do this without you. You're the best BETA ever. Love you!_

_Ps. Smut and fluff ahead!_

_

* * *

_

**Part 10 – jedi mind tricks:  
**That same evening, Rachel stood in front of her wardrobe again, worrying about what to 'd actually gotten her dads to agree to some shopping and after a little persuasion (and a few of her famed crocodile tears) she'd been allowed to go on her own. In other words, her wardrobe wasn't as horribly free from what Noah referred to as "normal clothes" as before but even if this was just a movie night, and even if she still liked her short skirts and flats, she wanted to look nice for him.

She finally pulled put a teal tank top with a simple cut, but that had a pretty sequined neckline and she paired it with the black skirt he'd once said he loved, a sleek black cardigan (no animals anywhere on it) that tied in the waist and a pair of black flats. Modelling it to herself, she thought she looked cute, a bit sassy and still relaxed and comfortable. Not as if it had taken her forever to pick it out. Even if it had.  
Pulling her hair back with a black hair band and grabbing her usual black purse (the big one with all sorts of junk in it that he claimed weighed a ton) and adding to that weight with a lip gloss and her travel sized perfume bottle (just in case) she was done.

He'd said five and she showed up at two minutes past, checking her wrist watch before knocking at the door. Her heart hammered in her chest as the seconds ticked away, but when he opened, she burst out laughing. He was wearing an apron and he had flour on his nose, his cheek and on is clothes (despite the apron).  
"Noah… What are you doing?"  
"I was gonna bake. My mom told me to. She gave me this mix and said I only needed to add some oil and water but when I poured it in, it puffed up and… Fuck. I suck."  
She made her way into the kitchen, pulled off her cardigan and grabbed a spare apron that was hanging by the counter. Side by side they mixed the cookie dough, clicking it out onto a baking tin. He drew a finger round the inside of the bowl when they had put the cookies in the over, and then tried to smear her nose with it. To his surprise, she was quicker than that, so she caught his wrist and held his hand to her mouth. As her tongue darted out and captured the cookie dough from his finger, a red hot twinge of lust darted through him. She felt it too, and she didn't let go of his gaze as she slowly slid his finger into her mouth and sucked and licked away the sweet mixture.  
His mind went to the gutter and he groaned, reaching out for her.

Their cookies would probably have been forgotten, burned and destroyed if his kid sister hadn't chosen that exact time to enter the house.

He cursed under his breath, but thanked god for small mercies as he leaned against the counter, casually hiding the tenting apron from his little sister's eyes, and called out to her  
"Hey, squirt! I thought you were sleeping over at Nathalie's?"  
"I am, I just forgot my jammies!"  
"Cool. C'mere, kiddo. Say hi to Rachel."  
The young girl who entered the kitchen was a small copy of Puck. Her hazel eyes were glittering with intelligence and mischief, just as his did, and the amazing lashes Rachel had always found to be quite a waste on a boy looked just as fantastic on a small girl.  
Staring up at Rachel, she nodded  
"H'lo. So YOU'RE the one this doofus is all gaga over?"  
Puck interrupted quickly.  
"Yeah, she's been talking to mom. Jewish, you know. Mom's like planning our wedding or whatever. Look, squirt – you can bring some cookies to Nat's if you don't tell mom that Rache was here. Ok?"  
Looking him up and down, his sister sized him up and decided that he was probably good for his word. She nodded.  
"Kay. Pack'em in a zippie while I fetch my jammies?"  
"Will do, boss…"  
He laughed as his sister did a tornado run out of the room, and Rachel felt weak to her knees. This side of Noah was new to her. She's always known that he would have made a great father for Beth, had he been given the chance, but she just started to realize how great he would have been, if the way he acted around his little sister was any indication, and she definitely believed it was.  
"Sorry about that…" he grinned at her sheepishly. "Cookies are done so why don't I get them and put a few in that ziplock bag… then we can watch a movie? There's a pile on my desk you can choose from. I'll be right up."

As she hung up her apron and exited the kitchen, he called out to her again  
"Want soy milk with your cookies, babe?" He held up an unopened carton and looked at her questioningly. She did.  
And she was immensely flattered that he'd apparently gotten soy milk, just for her.

He entered the room, after sending his sister off, and found Rachel sitting in his chair with headphones on, eyes closed and listening to his music. For some reason, he found that way hot. She swirled the chair a little back and forth and when she turned it towards the window the light hit her hair and face in that same exact way it did once before. The time he'd opened his eyes to Rachel Berry.  
She used to be this annoying, ever-buzzing, tiny diva that caused nothing but disturbance in his life. Always getting straight As, nagging at everyone about how they should apply themselves more and never shutting the fuck up about her Emmys and Tonys (or whatever) and goddamn Broadway shows that made him want to set himself on fire. So he'd invented the slushie facials to push her down a peg or two. She was so fucking full of herself, so self-assertive and goddamn perfect, it made him angry. Her life seemed too perfect and his was a mess. So yeah, he was a prick. No news there.

Until that day when he'd seen her at the bleachers. He'd known she was into Finn and the quarterback in question was being his usual shilly-shallying self and led her on while he was still happily dating Quinn, just because he didn't fucking know how to decide anything for himself. It pissed Puck off to no end.  
He was like that. When something was too good or when people didn't appreciate what they had, he wanted to destroy it. (Which is also kind of the reason for the whole winecooler/baby-debacle. He hadn't really thought that through before acting. Well, actually, he hadn't thought at all.)  
And then there was Rachel. That day, he hadn't slushied her. Not because he wouldn't have, but because she hadn't been around when he could have, so he drank the slushie instead, earning himself a royal fucking brain freeze-headache. He remembered it vividly. That same headache had made him pause after football practice was over, and he'd seen her on the bleachers, her clothes stained with pink and her small body curled into itself. She was just slightly bigger than his sister and the way the light hit her hair and face, she looked as fragile as one of the porcelain dolls his mom collected and placed on a shelf. (He'd always found them fucking scary. Just like clowns. Those big-ass fake smiles and sad eyes freaked him out. Come to think of it, that might be what bothered him about Rachel too.)  
He'd acted on instinct.

Climbing up the bleachers to where she was sitting, he wasn't sure what he was doing, but as he saw her face, streaked from where her make-up had run down her face, he'd grabbed a t-shirt and a towel out of his bag and left them for her, before he turned and jogged away.

He'd never let anyone slushie her after that day, telling himself that it was because she was so small and vulnerable, just like his kid sister, and telling everyone else it was because of Finn.  
But deep down he'd known.  
She'd touched something inside him that day and he hadn't been the same since.

He didn't get any farther in his thoughts, because she turned the chair towards him, opened her eyes and smiled.  
"Cookies and soy milk, anyone?"  
He grinned at her and placed the tray with the glasses and plate of cookies on a chair in front of his bed, like an impromptu serving table for them, where they could easily reach the snacks.  
"So… What movie did you decide on?"  
"Actually, I brought my own!" She shot him one of those freakishly huge grins, and continued "Mamma Mia! I thought it would combine the best of our two worlds in a quite satisfactory manner. There's Pierce Brosnan for you, since he's Bond and all. Besides, he's like SO yummy! You know, he even takes his shirt off? And for me, there's the musical!"

His face fell slightly but he tried to regain his composure as he tried to figure out if they would at least have time to watch one of his movies after that crap was over, and he wasn't prepared when she started laughing.

"You should see your face… Poor Noah! I was only joking. I actually think that movie is rather horrid, and I absolutely cannot stand Pierce Brosnan. I thought we could watch this one, if that's okay with you?"  
Pulling out The Expendables, she handed it to him and then jumped up into his bed, spreading the blanket from his chair over her feet and grabbing his pillows for later in case she'd want to lie down.  
The watched the movie while eating all the cookies and grappling slightly over the pillows and the blanket, but when the after texts rolled, their playfulness turned into something else, as his hand started to trace patterns onto her lower back and when her breath hitched, he felt himself growing half hard instantaneously. She was like a drug and he just kept wanting more.

He caught her slender waist and rolled onto his back, pulling her on top of him as he moved.  
Her eyes grew big as she felt him, already semi hard against her lower belly, but she quickly took advantage of his arousal as she moved up slightly, thus positioning herself on top of him, straddling his erection and moving her hips in lazy eights as she leaned in over him and crushed her lips down onto his. He let out a throaty sound that made the heat in her stomach intensify even further. Something about the way he reacted to her, and how he wasn't shy about showing just how much she got to him, turned her on more than she'd ever anticipated. It made her feel proud, territorial and animalistic in a strangely intoxicating way. As if she got high off of his arousal, as well as her own.  
It was never like this with Finn and she really started to wonder why she'd stuck around him.

As Puck's tongue delved into her mouth, learning the curves of her mouth and the shape of her tongue as if he expected there to be a test later, he traced the tip of his tongue along the edge of her front teeth and if you'd asked Rachel the day before that, she would have sworn that teeth aren't erogenous. After this kiss, she wasn't so sure.  
His hands travelled from her ass and up to her neck where he dragged his nails along the sensitive skin just hard enough for goose bumps to break out all over her body and to make her mewl into his mouth, which made him chuckle with gratification.  
He intended to map out every single inch of her body and make sure he got so far under her skin that she'd be spoiled for all other men, forever. He wasn't really sure what it was about her that made him so possessive, but as the minty chocolatey taste of her mouth, further enhanced by the chocolate cookies she'd eaten, rushed to his head and then down to his groin, he didn't care.  
He only cared that she was his and he intended to keep it that way.

Flipping her onto her back again, he held her arms above her head with one hand and used the other to slowly peel off her tank top (glittery – he liked it. But he preferred her body as naked as possible) as he started pressing kisses onto every strip of bare skin he revealed while undressing her. Every time he came across a spot that made her moan, shudder or break out in goose bumps, he spent a little more time there, licking and nipping at her erogenous zones until she was a shaking bundle of nerves beneath him… and he hadn't even deviated from her upper body yet…!

The movie was back to playing the intro-loop over and over again, and he grew fucking tired of the annoying sound, so he kissed her sweetly and told her he'd be right back. Switching off his TV and turning on some sweet tunes in the background, he stopped by the side of the bed, just admiring the toned, half dressed body lying in front of him. Her perfect handful breasts were encased in a dark brown lace bra that had some kind of gold woven into it, making her chest glimmer as she breathed. It looked amazing and he wondered if her panties matched it.

She met his gaze and slowly got up on her knees in front of him. As if she'd read his mind, she unbuckled the strap around her waist and the unzipped the skirt, making it fall onto the bed. Her panties did indeed match her bra and he couldn't stop staring at her as she swayed softly to the music. She got up from the bed and pressed into him, pulling at his neck to make him bend down. As soon as he obeyed, her pink tongue swept across his lips, begging for access to his mouth. Access he happily granted her. They kissed deeply and passionately so when her hands left his neck, he felt empty at first. Then they reappeared at his waist, tugging at his shirt and unbuckling his belt. He quickly stripped himself of the t-shirt and tossed it over his shoulder, while her slender fingers unzipped his pants and she pushed them down using her leg, while still kissing him.

His socks and boxers followed and he moaned as his cock pressed into her stomach as she stood on her toes, still massaging his tongue with hers. Then she started kissing her way down his body, paying extra attention to his erogenous zones, tugging at his nipple ring, licking the ridge of his sixpack and kissing the hollow just inside his hipbone. The later was sweet torture since her cheek brushed against his hardness as she did so, and he jerked involuntarily which made her giggle. Still smiling, she caught his cock in her hands and gently stroked the silky hardness, making his knees buckle slightly under him as he thrust reflexively into her hands, moaning throatily as her hands moved up and down his hardness. When she licked the sensitive head, he actually thought he'd black out from the pleasure so he was relieved when she pushed him down onto the bed. Until she kneeled in front of him and took his full length into her mouth, licking and sucking her way up and down his hard cock while one hand played with his nipple ring and the other was curled around the base of his hardness, stroking it in time with her mouth's movements.

His entire body shook from the pleasure waves and he mumbled incoherently  
"Oh… fuck… Oh god. Rache, yes…"  
Her giggle made her mouth vibrate which was just a bit too much to handle, right now, unless she wanted a quickie (well, regardless – because he didn't) , so he pulled her up and kissed her smiling mouth. She melted into his kiss in that way that made him feel like the king of the world, and when he undid her bra and gently pulled her panties down her legs, he whispered to her just how beautiful he thought she was. The amazing part is that she believed him. With him, she felt gorgeous.

When his fingers swept over her wet heat, flicking over her sensitive bundle of nerves and gently probing her entrance, she finally saw those gold stars she'd always been dreaming about. Only she'd never expected them to show up like this.  
They kept whispering sweet nothings into each other's ears as he thrust into her, kissing her neck, breasts and collar bone the whole time as his fingers swept over her clit and his cock drove into her, closer and closer to oblivion with each push.  
When she tipped over the edge, his name a cry on her lips as she came, he finally allowed himself to reach the paradise he'd only ever found inside her.

As they lay side by side, cuddling and kissing, he realized that this was a first for him. He'd fucked plenty of women in plenty of ways and plenty of places – but she was the only one to whom he'd ever made love. He had no idea how that happened. It was like someone had played a jedi mind trick on him. But the strangest thing is that he couldn't seem to mind.

He expected the panic to rise and his usual need to get out to surface but it never did. All he felt, as she tilted her head from where it rested against his broad chest and smiled up at him, was happiness and he wondered.

Maybe this was what love felt like?


	5. Chapter 5

**_Disclaimer:_**_  
I don't own anything except my mistakes.  
I might also be responsible for Rachel's somewhat less highstrung vocabulary  
(because, let's face it, I'm just not good enough to write tirades like that!),  
but that might also just be a coincidence. ;)_

_**A/N: **__This was supposed to be a short one chapter-story but as usual, Rachel talked a bit too much and Puck acted out and… It ended up a lot longer than expected.  
For the readers of "Time Heals all Wounds": Don't worry! It's still being written! This is just a little something I had to get out of my system. ;)_

_As always, Anna, I couldn't do this without you. You're the best BETA ever. Love you!_

_SMUT ahead. Plz, don't read if that offends you!_

_

* * *

_

**Part 12 – a week in the life:**

The rest of the week progressed as expected.  
Finn glared at them at any given chance and Santana delivered her sassy, bitchy remarks right on cue. It was all pretty ugly and Glee-club on Friday was like walking on egg shells.  
No one was surprised when Brittany finally crinkled her forehead into a bazillion tiny ridges and theatrically (she must have seen that move in some kind of detective movie. Probably a nineteen fourties crappy version of Sherlock Holmes, or something, judging from the lack of natural smoothness to the gesture) tapped her temple as she tried to puzzle the pieces together, and finally exclaimed in a voice that would have made Socrates proud (Eureka-moment or whatever)  
"I am experiencing a whole lot of intensity here."  
(Yep. Definitely a fourties movie unless Rachel's vocabulary had suddenly rubbed off on the girl, or something?)  
They all stared at her and Santana, who was used to interpreting the blonde's language into proper English, sighed and pursed her mouth.  
"You mean tension, Britt."  
"Do I? Oh!"  
Brittany beamed at Santana and hopefully held up her pinky. Santana stared at her, eyebrows furrowed and mouth set in a hard line, for a few seconds but then she started laughing and lovingly crooked her own pinky around the blonde's, leaning her head against her friend's shoulder.

Finally, the uneasy air lifted from the room and they could all concentrate on their singing. All but Finn who suddenly flew up from his seat, so jerkily that his chair fell over, his hands clenched into fists and his face a map of angry lines as he stared at the spot between Puck and Rachel, where their hands were entwined.  
His mouth opened and closed, his jaw squarely set and his eyes blazing, but he just spat out a lame excuse of having a headache, picked up his bag and left without another word.  
Everyone seemed to exhale as the door fell shut behind him, and even Santana appeared more at ease now her own anger wasn't fuelled by Finn's.  
Puck, however, having known the tall boy since they were racing their toy trucks in the sandboxes of the Lima playgrounds, knew that this was far from over. He decided on sending Rachel ahead on an errand before he left Glee-class, and ride out the storm that was Finn on his own.

As Mr Schue dismissed them with their usual assignment to find a song that expressed something (he didn't really listen to the teacher anymore. He'd lost interest after a while, seeing as it was all pretty much either a dig at Rachel or some kind of tribute to Finn, anyway. Unless it was, you know, reciting some stupid fucking song that should have been outlawed for being totally fucking lame.) Puck leaned down to place a soft kiss on Rachel's nose and ask her to  
"Babe, can you get my books for me? See you at the truck? Just gotta talk to Mr Schue, kay?"  
She nodded and smiled happily up at him, pleased to see him sticking around to discuss matters with the teachers (she really believed that he could get really good grades if he'd only apply himself more. He had such a good head when he wanted to use it, as he'd already shown in the classes he'd started attending after they began going out… or whatever it was that they did.) and then bounced off, her short skirt wafting as her hips swung.  
He shook his head slowly and a tender smile brushed his lips just before, as expected, Finn showed up to ambush him just as the others had left.

Crossing his arms over his chest, he cocked an eyebrow at his (former?) friend and leisurely slumped back into the chair behind him.  
"Hudson…" he nodded at the taller boy who still stood up, clearly feeling more at ease when he physically towered over the mohawked young man that sat there, legs apart and head cockily tilted upwards, looking secure and challenging all at once.  
Finn cleared his throat but kept silent, weight shifting from foot to foot and fists still clenched, the anger still apparent on his face and in his tense body, but saying nothing at all so Puck leaned forward, elbows on his knees and eyes still fixed on Finn's.  
"Say your piece. I know you're dying to." Puck calmly said, actually feeling some kind of compassion starting to build inside him. If the situation had been reversed, he didn't think he'd be able to keep as (relatively) calm as Finn was.  
(Then again, Puck wasn't quite sure why or how, but Rachel had gotten under his skin in a way he was pretty sure that Finn had never experienced.)

Finally, Finn spoke up.  
"Why do you have to destroy everything?"  
Puck felt his stomach clench as if he'd gotten a punch to the gut, but his face didn't betray his shock or pain as he delivered his trademark, badboy-smirk and his eyebrow, curving upwards, urged Finn to continue.  
"First Quinn and now Rachel… Why her? We're a good match. She's too nice for you and you're only gonna break her heart anyway so leave her alone."  
Anger flared in his stomach and he slowly got to his feet, his body still relaxed (which was nothing but a great feat because he felt like punching something – or someone – and screaming profanities at the top of his lungs. Who the fuck did this prick think that he was? God's gift to man, brought down to bestow indecisiveness upon the human race? Fuck!).  
"So your plan was… what? To treat her right by fucking her in secret, and ignoring her in public? Good thinking… How's that working for ya?"

He should have known better. Challenging Finn was one thing. He could take the pansy-ass punches the dude threw, any day of the week (besides, he pretty much advertised them a week in advance so ducking wasn't exactly hard – unless he was heavily distracted like last time) but thinking that Rachel wouldn't come back for him? Big mistake!

As Finn swung his fist towards Puck face, there was a shrill yell, cutting through the halls as Rachel reacted instinctively, placing herself between the fighting boys. Unfortunately, Finn's reflexes weren't the best, and his blow landed squarely across Rachel's cheekbone.

"FUCK! You stupid goddamn prick! You fucking hit her! Get the FUCK out of here before I beat you to a fucking pulp!"  
Puck's voice was a menacing growl as he fell to his knees beside Rachel's sunken figure, his eyes never leaving her face as the sound of Finn's running feet disappeared down the hall.  
"Babe… Fuck. Are you okay?"

She shook her head and then whined at the pain the movement elicited in her face and head.  
"No, not really. I'm only very thankful that it was Finn and not you who threw the first punch or I have no doubt that I would be much worse for wear right now…"  
She offered him a weak smile and he grinned at her, waggling his eyebrow and winking  
"You better believe it, babe…" but as soon as the joke made her giggle, he was back to being concerned.  
"Can you stand up?"  
He carefully grabbed her waist and pulled her to her feet. Her face was pale and her eyes wide with shock, still, so he lifted her up, cradling her to his chest and walked across the halls with the small girl in his arms, only ever stopping to put her down when they'd reached the nurse's office. He tenderly kissed her forehead and then started to tell the nurse what had transpired (he figured it'd take him half a minute while Rachel's summary might take at least ten times that much...) and immediately, Rachel was swept into a loving cocoon of band-aids, aspirins and occasional soft kisses from Noah.

She wasn't really hurt. Finn's fist had pretty much just grazed her cheek, since her dancer reflexes had allowed for her to swerve just enough to avoid the real blow. It was more that she was still kind of shook up that Finn had tried to punch Noah again, and that the things she'd heard made her slightly nauseous. All those things felt a bit better in direct relation to her proximity to Noah's body and as long as his arm was around her waist, she felt okay.  
As he took her to the truck, she was feeling alright, but the second he'd helped her up and walked around to get in on the driver's side, she felt a dull, strange ache in her stomach. She recognized it as loneliness and realized that she had gotten so used to having him at her side, that she actually missed him when he moved far enough out of her reach that she could no longer feel his body heat.

She shook her head and smiled at the hazel eye boy as he hopped into the truck, taking her hand as soon as the car was in gear.  
"My place or yours?" he said jokingly, with a lewd smile and waggling eyebrows.  
"Yours."

She couldn't have been more serious.

* * *

**Part 13 – Friday afternoon in the Puckerman house:**

They stopped for take-out at the small Chinese place Rachel loved. They had excellent Tofu Chow Mein and their vegan spring rolls were her favourite. She asked for extra hot sauce, which made Puck laugh, because she made an adorable face every time she ate spicy food. She'd dip the spring roll into the sauce and bite of a piece, crinkling her nose and open her eyes up super wide while making that cute round, puckered up mouth that he just couldn't resist kissing.

Feeding him with her chopsticks (because he claimed he was too lazy and just needed a fork), she sat on the living room floor of the Puckerman home, Puck's head reclining on her thigh and his eyes closed as he lazily opened his mouth every time she told him to open up.  
There was just no way she could resist the idea. She dipped his last piece of spring roll (he got vegan food too, or Rachel wouldn't kiss him. He figured it was worth it. Like totally.) into the hot sauce and fed it to him just to see his reaction.  
His eyes fell open and he stared at her, but he didn't make a face. He just silently chewed, swallowed and sat up slowly, taking a sip of his drink.  
"I'm badass babe. It doesn't GET spicier than this!"  
He winked and gestured up and down his muscular body.

It was totally an act. It felt as if his mouth would burn up… He stole some of her noodles to soothe the burn, and he knew he'd have to confess to it eventually. But right now, she'd dipped a piece of spring roll of her own into that sauce and was making that face… He leaned in and kissed her quickly.  
"You had some soda there."  
She took a sip of soda and then smiled as she squeezed the cup enough that a little bit of soda dripped out of her straw and down on her collarbone, slowly making its way into the neckline of her top.  
"Oooops… Guess I've got some soda there, too…"

He was on top of her before she'd finished the sentence, his hot tongue tracing her collar bone and then following the drops of soda down into the cleavage of her shirt, unbuttoning it as he went, licking and nipping at the skin he revealed with each undone button.

As soon as he'd discarded her top, he caressed her sides while kissing her deeply. His tongue curled around hers and swept over her teeth in that way she was still surprised to find so erotic. She moaned into his mouth as his calloused fingers pulled down the lacy cups of her bra to free her beautiful, perfect handful breasts of their restraint.  
Pinching her nipples lightly, he was amazed as always by her passionate response to his touch and when her back arched, her breasts pressing into his hands and her brown locks cascading down her back he was yet again taken by how beautiful she looked.  
He lifted her up and carried her into his room, carefully cradling her head as he lay her down on his bed, and the stood there watching her silently. Rachel enjoyed the look in his eyes when he looked at her, but she was starting to feel as if there were a whole lot of other things she would rather be doing, than posing half naked in his bed, so she upped the ante.  
Catching his eye, she arched her back and ran her hands down her sides, then back up before stroking one hand across her breasts, stopping to pinch her nipples and her soft, full mouth fell open as she enjoyed the sensation of his heated gaze upon her body as she brought herself pleasure.

Still wordlessly, she let her hands travel further down, and leisurely unzipped her skirt, letting it fall open beneath her. Lying there in only her panties, she lifted her hand, collected her mass of brown locks as a crown on top of her head and looked at him through hooded eyes while she undulated her hips slowly, making her entire body move in sensual, slow ripples.

Puck was hard just looking at her. This sexy, beautiful girl teasing him wordlessly made him feel things he'd never felt before. He grabbed the hem of his t-shirt and quickly pulled it over his head, tossing it to the floor.  
Her eyes turned liquid as she watched his hands slide down to his belt, unbuckle it with painfully deliberate movements and then undo each button of his jeans in an exquisite, lingering way. As he finally slid out of his jeans and socks she was already on her knees, dragging her fingers across his torso and then down to his hard length.  
"C'mere…"  
His voice was a throaty murmur that vibrated into her more than she actually heard it, and she obeyed immediately, pressing her naked body against his hardness, making him gasp for air as their mouths crushed together and her hands kept caressing his silky erection. He pushed her knees apart and the hands that had played with her hair and rested on her round ass, suddenly disappeared between her legs and held her up. One hand found her clit and flicked it expertly, while one digit from the other hand plunged into her wet entrance, making her mewl into his mouth. He grinned triumphantly and a second finger joined the first, darting in and out in a pace that matched the circles he rubbed on her clit.  
Her inner walls was starting to clench slightly and he pulled free of her (regardless of how amazing her small, amazingly cool hands felt on his hard cock) and kissed her eagerly while he pushed her down on her back. Pulling her onto the edge of the bed, he kneeled in front of her, and flicked his tongue over her clit while he pushed two fingers back into her. Judging from the way her pussy was getting tighter by the second, he knew she didn't have long left, so he alternated between quick flicks of his tongue and long, wide strokes across her labia and clit in a way he knew made her crazy, while his fingers deftly drove in and out of her, stretching and probing her as he alternatively flexed and arched them inside her, hitting her g-spot with each stroke. Her eyes were closed and she was on the verge of falling, when he added a third finger and bit the inside of her thigh slightly.  
"Babe… Watch me."

She couldn't believe the rush it gave her to see his eyes locked on hers while his tongue made her feel all those amazing things. His fingers increased their speed to match her quickening breath as each stroke of his tongue across her pussy and each thrust of his fingers pushed her closer and closer to a mind blowing orgasm. She felt the heat that had been building in the pit of her stomach as it started to coil and curl its way around her spine, sending electric shocks down to her hot wet center where Noah watched her intently with those shining eyes as he manipulated her body in that beautiful way.  
"Fuck, you're gorgeous, Rache…!"  
He sucked her clit into his mouth, bit down gently and then rapidly flicked his tongue over it a few times before he mumbled  
"Let go, babe… Just come for me."  
and the vibrations of his voice pushed her right over the edge.

She swore she could see galaxies inside her eyelids when she came apart.

He waited until the spasms subsided until he pulled his fingers out of her to suck them clean, his gaze never leaving hers, and when he kissed her she was as surprised as always that she didn't find the taste of herself on his tongue disgusting but actually rather sweet and arousing. Her fingers encircled him firmly, and she let her hands entwine as she moved them up and down his hardness. He groaned into her mouth as she rubbed the head of his hard cock against her wet folds.  
"Noah… Please…"  
He ripped the condom wrapper open with his teeth and then kissed her again as he quickly rolled it on and then lifted her up, placing her in front of the full height mirror. As he pushed into her from behind, filling her up completely, he lifted one of her legs up and placed it on the seat of his chair.  
"You're beautiful…Look."  
He caressed her flat stomach and trim waist with one hand, letting it travel from her hip and slowly up to her breast where he held it in his big hand, caressing it and pinching the nipple slightly as his other hand dove into the apex between her thighs, his index finger capturing the wetness from her folds and then flicking and circling around her sensitive clit, while he placed hot kisses on her neck, nipping at it lightly.

Rachel was embarrassed at first but soon found it shockingly erotic to watch as he pushed into her and her body moved on its own accord to meet every thrust. Her cheeks were flushed and her eyes glazed and he kept looking at her with those eyes that almost looked like liquid gold as his muscular arms held her small body in place against his. They both looked beautiful, even to her eyes.  
His movements were getting erratic and his eyes flicked closed a few seconds at a time, as he was getting closer to orgasm and suddenly Rachel heard herself begging him to fuck her harder.  
The hazel eyes that met hers in the mirror were wide open with surprise and dark with lust as he drove into her harder and deeper with each stroke, bending her slightly forward to better hit her g-spot and he almost growled against the skin of her neck, as he bit down and then ground out  
"Fuck. Come, babe. Please… Fucking come... So close…"  
and he never had to complete that sentence, as Rachel felt her inner walls contract and spasm around his hardness rapidly and violently, making her entire body shake with pleasure as she cried out wordlessly. He followed right behind her, and they collapsed on the floor in a sweaty pile, kissing lazily until their legs carried them long enough to allow them to crawl up into bed and curl up together under the duvet.

The boneless, fleeting feeling in her body, however, had nothing to do with sex (no matter how earth shattering, mind blowing and absolutely epic) and all to do with that sense of home that he seemed to evoke in her.  
Something like happiness.

Something a lot like love.


	6. Chapter 6

**_Disclaimer:_**_  
I don't own anything except my mistakes.  
I might also be responsible for Rachel's somewhat less highstrung vocabulary  
(because, let's face it, I'm just not good enough to write tirades like that!),  
but that might also just be a coincidence. ;)_

_**A/N: **__This was supposed to be a short one chapter-story but as usual, Rachel talked a bit too much and Puck acted out and… It ended up a lot longer than expected.  
For the readers of "Time Heals all Wounds": Don't worry! It's still being written! This is just a little something I had to get out of my system. ;)_

_UnBETA'd because my BETA's busy. Hope I didn't mess up too badly!  
_

_

* * *

_

**Part 1****3 – pillow thoughts:**  
Lying in bed, her head still perched on the chest of the school's former bully and self-proclaimed King, his reputation weighed heavily on Rachel. His status as a badass, fight club-ruler, nailer of cougars and generally the guy your mother warns you about wasn't really of the essence here. What was, was the fact that he was Finn's best friend, star of the football team, a teenage (if unwillingly childless) father and a really sweet boy who'd helped her when no one else would have been willing to lend her a hand.  
Even if she had a feeling he'd deny it stubbornly if anyone said so, he was actually a pretty decent guy. Maybe more so than the boy she'd thought she loved.  
Finn, with his goofy, lopsided grin and his beautiful eyes, the boy who sang his heart out and crinkled his nose adorably while he did so, who never seemed to know what or who he wanted and who'd kept her a well-kept secret for months. The boy who had repeatedly torn her heart out and kicked it to the curb.

So what on earth was she doing here, undressed and curled up around the hard body of her former tormentor? How did their attempt to teach Finn a lesson so rapidly turn into something else, entirely? So different from the original plan that she had almost forgotten about it altogether. And why on earth did it feel so good? So natural and intimate, in a way that it never had with Finn.  
So right…

Rachel Berry wasn't used to losing track of her target. She was a goal oriented, ambitious and energetic young woman with a firm grip of reality. She knew that her future would become what she was intent on making it but as she reclined in Noah Puckerman's bed, with his arm around her waist and his scent on her body, the apex of her thighs still thudding dully with each heart beat as a reminder of their former activities, she had no idea. How she got there, what it meant or where it was going? She had absolutely no clue, and it scared her.

An impending "serious talk" hovered in their immediate future and she wasn't so sure she really wanted to know his thought on the subject. Deciding to push it off a little further and just revel in the moment, she closed her eyes just for a second…  
…and woke up three hours later, as the front door slammed shut and a child's voice reverberated through the house.  
"Noaaaaah! Are you upstairs?"

A crescendo of rapid footsteps approached the bedroom.

* * *

**Part 14 – coming out of the closet:**  
"FUCK!"  
He got out of bed and into a pair of sweatpants in a move so quick it mesmerized Rachel. In a second, he was at the door, holding it firmly at a small crack and placing his muscular, broad body between himself and his little sister who was apparently bouncing on the balls of her feet with excitement.  
"Noah! Mom says we can go to the circus! You have to get dressed, doofus, because you're making me a sandwich before we leave, because mom said so, and then mom comes home and we'll leave because it starts at seven and I'll get to stay up late and pet the elephants and there'll be ponies and you know what, Noah? I want cotton candy!"  
Rachel had to bury her head in the pillow not to burst out laughing as the tiny, girly copy of her lover delivered her rant at a speed that would have all the world's rappers in awe. Puck shook his head and chuckled at his sister's outburst, stretching a hand out to muss her hair.  
"Sure, squirt. Get downstairs and unpack your school bag. I'll be right down, okay?"

He turned around as soon as his sister left for her room, downstairs.  
"Shit. Babe, I'm sorry!"

Rachel shook her head with a smile.  
"No problem."  
She was actually a bit relieved by the intrusion that had interrupted her thoughts, just as they were going in a direction that she found scary. Uncharted lands were not common in Rachel Berry's mind and with Noah, there was nothing BUT surprises and exploration of things she never knew she loved. Her cheeks flushed slightly as she was offered a vivid, technicolour vision of just what he'd recently shown her and he caught that, his eyes glazing over slightly and a wicked grin grazing his full lips as he cocked an eyebrow at her and asked, his voice a low rumble  
"Good thoughts…?"  
Standing in her skirt and bra, cradled in Noah's arms, she tilted her head back as his slowly approached hers, and their tongues met in a heated kiss. So heated, in fact, that they both initially missed out on the footsteps coming towards his door.

Rachel's eyes went wide and she jerked away from his tempting body in a flurry of movements, entering the closet and closing the door behind her just as Noah's door opened and his little sister stood in front of him, arms akimbo and face stern.  
"Noah… Do you have a girl here?"  
"Um… Why'd you think that, squirt?"  
"Well… You used to have girls here all the time."  
"Hey!"  
"You did. But you haven't since you met Rachel. And I like Rachel, Noah! She's funny and she sings to me and she's pretty and mom says she'd a good Jewish girl so you better not be treating her like she's… one of your regular girls!"  
He couldn't help but laugh at the pint size version of his mom who stared him down with eyes so much like his own. That didn't really pan out very well, because suddenly she was all over him, her tiny fists pounding at his chest and her face a study in anger.  
"Noah! It's not FUNNY! Get the skank out of here NOW!"  
"Chill, squirt! What's the problem?"

She pulled out a piece of fabric that she'd held behind her back, and Puck's mind went blank when he recognized the top he'd stripped from Rachel's body a few hours earlier.  
"Shit…"  
He met nothing but a set of angry hazel eyes and he was clueless. How the fuck he was supposed to get out of this without outing Rachel as a not-quite-as-good-Jewish-girl as his mother hoped for, and without ruining his own sudden status as the almost-okay-brother (somehow, his family seemed to like him more in direct proportion to how much time he spent with Rachel. It was an unexpected bonus.), he just didn't know. He opened his mouth to deliver a retort, but none came to mind.

He was just about to try the "mind your own business-line" when the wardrobe door opened and Rachel stepped out, dressed in her own skirt and flats, paired with one of his smaller tank tops, tucked in cleverly to make it look less like an over-sized boy top and more like a cool fashion statement.  
" Sorry, Noah, I cannot find your lucky t-shirt either. Maybe you DID forget it at school, after all?... Oh! Hi!"

Looking extremely innocent, she tucked her hand into his bigger one and smiled down at his sister. From looking at her, you couldn't tell that she was nervous, but her little hand shook slightly in his, to he ran his thumb reassuringly across her knuckles and offered her a smile and a gentle squeeze of her hand.  
"Oh, you brought my top. Thank you! I spilled slushie on it so I had to borrow one of Noahs. How sweet of you to bring it up to me!"  
She quickly took it out of the hands of his kid sister's hands and trotted off to the bathroom where she continued to soak it under the tap, scrubbing at a non-existent stain.

Unfortunately, her act didn't fool Noah's kid sister who was about the best sleuth he'd ever known (Nancy Drew, eat your heart out) and who just grinned.  
"S'ok, Noah. I won't tell mom… as long as you promise to make me cookies for lunch for the rest of the week. And to drive me to Maddie's tomorrow night when mom is working. Oh – and we'll need cookies too."  
He started to oppose the list of demands, when she winked at him, in a way that was so much like his own that it took him aback, and continued  
"Think about it, No… House to yourself? Just drive me and make a couple batches of cookies and you're free to play hide and seek in the closet all night…"

He had a hard time admitting it – but he just totally got played by his kid sister.

And he loved it.

* * *

**Part 15 - circus act:**  
He wasn't quite as thrilled fifteen minutes later as he and Rachel sat down to share their improvised dinner with his sister, and his mom burst through the door, demanding instant attention as she fired off her questions as if they were bullets and he had a target painted on his forehead.  
"Noah – are you done with you homework? Did you feed your little sister? Are you all done and ready to go? Did you set the timer for my TV-shows? And hello Rachel, it's good to see you, how are your dads? Will you be going to the circus with us?"  
Before Rachel even drew her breath in to answer (Puck was rather impressed with his mom. Her tirades were actually quicker and more erratic than Rachel's – something he'd doubted she ever thought she'd experience.) she nodded and smiled at the tiny brunette who sat by her son's side.  
"Good! I'll call your dads and let them know."

She was out of the room before anyone managed to get another word into the mix.

Rachel's look was absolutely priceless! Her eyes were big as saucers, and her mouth slightly agape as she watched Mrs Puckerman whirl out of the room with a speed that indicated that she ought to have little swirls of air and leaves behind her, like in the comics.  
He laughed.  
"She OWNED you, Berry!"  
"I… Yes. I do believe that she did!"  
Rachel burst out laughing, eyes glittering and white teeth glimmering at him, and there was a distinct, yet fuzzy, warm feeling in Puck's stomach. He shook it off but couldn't help noticing that he was about to go to the circus with his mom, his sister and the laughing stock of the school.  
It just didn't get nerdier than that and he knew that if the jocks found out, there'd be hell to pay in school, come Monday.  
But he didn't care.

Well, fuck, he was Puckzilla! He could wear a skirt to school and no one would care.

So they took off in his mom's ratty car, his sister bouncing on the passenger seat and him and Rachel in the back, his hand resting on her thigh, fingers entwined in hers. She sang along with his crazy family as they took up some weird circus-song that was just plain creepy and he refused to join in, but he couldn't help but enjoy the ride.  
And eventually, he joined in on the singing too.  
Just because they wouldn't stop asking him. Not because it was fun or anything, obviously.  
…but his eyes glittered with a smile the entire way.

After they'd watched all the creepy clowns, talented acrobats (Rachel had watched them with eyes bigger than his sister's, mouth open and "ooooh'ing" every time they performed a neat trick. She later confessed that she'd wanted to be an acrobat when she was a small girl. His reply was an innuendo that had her blushing fiercely and she was relieved that his mom & sister couldn't or see hear them through the noisy darkness of the big tent.) and all those dancing elephants and whatever, they dropped Rachel off at her house and she thanked them profusely for "an absolutely lovely evening that she would most certainly keep in fondest memory!".  
Puck grinned the whole way home and when his sis asked him why (her actual word were "Creepy, much? What's up with that Cheshire-grin, doofus?") he just shrugged and mussed her hair.  
"Just in a good mood, squirt. This was fun, ey?"  
She nodded and curled up against his side, finally giving in to the sleepiness that had been kept at bay with a huge amount of excitement and something like three brightly coloured cotton candies, and before they even exited Rachel's street, she was asleep against his chest.  
He didn't fail to acknowledge the fact that he had a perfect opportunity to mess with his sister, or that it was pretty out of character for him to just put his arm around her and let her sleep, instead of pulling a prank, but he wasn't in the mood to be a dick to her at the moment.

He didn't miss the surprised look his mom shot him, either. He just didn't mind as much as usual.

When he'd carried his sister inside and tucked her in, his mom kissed his cheek and lovingly told him good night. She watched him leave, humming something she could have sworn was "Sweet Caroline" as he went up the stairs (but that couldn't possibly be. Could it?), not even having cringed at the kiss, or wiped it off as he usually did.  
When he turned on the last step and called down to her, soft voice and a big smile on his lips, telling her  
"Night, mom. Thanks for tonight, it was fun."  
she decided that Rachel Berry was the best thing that ever happened to her son. And she wasn't gonna let him ruin that.

Puck flopped down onto the bed and smiled to himself as he heard his phone beeping. He checked the screen quickly, instantly finding himself hoping it'd be from her.  
_"Good evening, Noah. I just wanted to thank you for a lovely evening! The circus was very exciting! However, I do believe I enjoyed the "gun show" most… Sleep well! /R*"_

He quickly keyed in a reply.  
_"Yea? U can b my acrobat anytime, babe. Pick u up tmrw. Dream of me. ;)"_  
He didn't expect an answer, but just as he turned off the lights, his phone beeped once more with a reply.  
_"I believe that you can rest assured that I will. xoxo /R*"_

He fell asleep smiling.


	7. Chapter 7

**_Disclaimer:_**_  
I don't own anything except my mistakes.  
I might also be responsible for Rachel's somewhat less highstrung vocabulary  
(because, let's face it, I'm just not good enough to write tirades like that!),  
but that might also just be a coincidence. ;)_

_**A/N: **__This was supposed to be a short one chapter-story but as usual, Rachel talked a bit too much and Puck acted out and… It ended up a lot longer than expected.  
For the readers of "Time Heals all Wounds": Don't worry! It's still being written! This is just a little something I had to get out of my system. ;)_

_As always, Anna, I couldn't do this without you. You're the best BETA ever. Love you!_

_

* * *

_

**Part 1****6 – unexpected saviours:**  
They arrived to school the way they usually did, nowadays: in his truck, him opening the door for her and kissing her on the way down. He always took advantage of her body pressed up against his own, even if it was for just a few seconds. He made them count!

Her cheeks always seemed to be slightly flushed when they entered school grounds, and his eyes were filled with more than his usual cocky challenge. They held a smile that made people treat him differently. Less like a dumb jock and bully and more like an intelligent human being that might actually have a care. Like he was grown up. He noticed it, not only at school but at home and during practices too.  
So maybe people didn't flee before him as they used to, and a few of his former victims actually dared to meet his eyes every now and then, but he didn't really mind.

His grades were slowly going up, his mom spoke to him as if he was man enough to make his own decisions (fi-fucking-nally!) and his sister had taken to kissing him goodnight, something she'd stopped doing when she was four and he'd growled at her in a particularly menacing way when she tried.  
He liked it that she had taken it up again. Made him feel like someone to be counted on.  
As if maybe, just maybe, he wasn't destined to become a carbon copy of his dad after all.

…and it wasn't like he didn't know who was responsible for the change in him.

So when he picked her up after class, to take her to lunch, he actually came from class too. Meaning that he was a little late. Just a minute or so, but that was enough, apparently because there she was. Tiny, toned body in an atypically un-schoolgirl-esque outfit consisting of a pair of black slacks and a fitted tee, her brown hair cascading down her back… and dripping with crushed ice and purple corn syrup, that had been unceremoniously dumped over her head by a laughing Karofsky, cup still in his hand as he carelessly spat out his final humiliation of the girl:  
"Freak! Where's that pussy, loser-boyfriend of yours now, huh?"

He saw red.

"I'm right here, fuckface… And we'll see about the pussy, because I'm about to rip you your own."  
His voice was a deep rumbling and the hallway cleared magically as everyone suddenly stood pressed up against the lockers when his fists clenched and his eyes started blazing in that way every single WMHS-student knew just too well. All hell was about to break loose, but just as he was about to punch Karofsky's nose in he was shoved aside by Sue Sylvester who caught the hockey player by the lapels of his jacket, slammed him up against the locker and started talking in that strangely lilting, nonchalant way of hers.  
"Why, Dave Karofsky. How's that bed wetting problem of yours working out nowadays? I seem to remember you crying like a little girl when you were supposed to go to hockey camp. It was pathetic, really!"  
Karofsky's face blushed crimson and his mouth hang agape in a very unbecoming manner, which Sue immediately took advantage of.  
"Close your mouth. You'll catch more flies than normal if you keep it open and in that case you won't be hungry for lunch. Come to think of it, that might be a good idea, because I seem to have caught you accidentally dropping your slushie on Rachel Berry here and were I to believe that it was on purpose… I might have to bring you to the principal's office. It would probably get ugly and you would most certainly miss lunch. Probably lose that scholarship too, that you are so dependant on…"  
Sue cocked her eyebrow at him and sneered in her patented way before she continued:  
"…but I am sure you were JUST about to apologize for your lack of common coordination… since I guess it's not your fault you're dumb as a sack of bricks and just as good looking, and that you'll make sure that there is never another accident like this one again. In school or elsewhere. Am I right?"

A mortified Karofsky had no other options than to ask Rachel for forgiveness, and while most anyone else would have taken the opportunity to embarrass him further, Rachel just nodded and said  
"I forgive you."  
before she watched Karofsky slink off towards the cafeteria. As soon as he'd left, Sue spun around, taking off in another direction, but not before her eyes drilled into Rachel's and she casually spat out.  
"I'll see you at Cheerio practice on Tuesday. Santana will set you up."

* * *

**Part 17 ****– trying out new grounds:**  
Santana was angry for all about fifteen minutes. She'd known about the Cheerios needing fresh blood for quite some time, the need especially pressing since Quinn didn't seem as motivated as before, and she had to admit that Rachel Berry, no matter how annoying, had crossed her mind as a possible candidate. She would have suggested it, too, if she'd thought Sue Sylvester would have ever listened to advice.  
It was logical, really! The tiny diva probably weighed less than a regular size Chihuahua, which meant she could easily be hauled to the top of a pyramid (unless she was scared of heights. And if she was, she'd have to work through it. Sue Sylvester didn't take no for an answer, unless it was followed by a death certificate or a medical proof of a gender change. Santana wasn't even sure those would help.) and since Berry was a dancer she'd probably learn the steps rapidly.

That's how Rachel Berry found herself with her own arms linked with Santana's and Brittany's after English Lit-class on Tuesday, something that made carrying her books rather difficult – but she managed.

Santana casually struck up her conversation with the one thing everyone gossiped about.  
"So… You and Puck, huh?"  
Rachel blinked and stammered something unintelligible, but that didn't matter because Santana didn't wait around for a reply on Rachel's part. She just prattled on about Cheerio practice, the uniform and every now and then, she paused to explain something to the blonde girl on the other side of Rachel.

Spotting Puck at the other end of the hallway, Santana stopped. Unfortunately, Britt wasn't as quick on the uptake and as she kept walking, she made a half circle back again. She almost pulled Rachel with her, making the two dark haired girls stand eye to eye as she finally ceased her moving with an "Oh! Guys, we stopped!"  
Santana shook her head and rolled her eyes, but there was a smile on her lips when she told Brittany off, and then turned to Rachel again.  
"Be fifteen minutes early for practice. We'll get you a uniform. And before you ask… No, you don't have to wear it to school. We usually do, because… you know – it IS a cheerleader uniform and most of us aren't freaky enough to prefer weird argyle jumper sets and pleated skirts, but since I guess YOU do… You're allowed. Any questions?"

Rachel couldn't even remember how to spell her own name, the confusion of suddenly becoming a cheerleader and being spoken to by Santana Lopez too fresh in her mind, so Santana just snagged her phone from her hands and programmed it to hold her number as well as Brittany's.  
"There. Call if there's anything. We're like… friends now or whatever. Oh. And Britt doesn't always remember how to answer her phone so don't worry if she doesn't pick up. Ciao!"

Puck laughed out loud as the cheerleaders left a dizzy looking Rachel standing in the middle of the hallway, her face a perfect image of bewilderment.  
"Hey babe. Made some new friends?"  
He caught her around the waist and spun her around, kissing her soundly before setting her feet back on the ground. They walked hand in hand to the cafeteria, talking about everyday things and never even noticing the way the hallways cleared before them.

They didn't know it, but they were quickly becoming the school's new power couple.

* * *

**Part 18 –** **bumps in the road:**  
He hung around the gym after football practice, passing time by checking his mail and updating his facebook-status via his phone while he waited for her, not wanting to admit that he was a bit nervous on her behalf. He knew she'd be a little later than him, since she had to try out her new uniform and undergo Sue Sylvester's rigorous training, not to mention the try-out session that had proven enough to make many tough girls cry.  
He hoped Sylvester would be in one of her almost-human moods and that Rachel didn't take it too hard if she failed.

He shouldn't have worried. She exited the gym wearing a Cheerio uniform, a heavy Cheerio bag on one shoulder and her school bag on the other. On her face, a huge smile that only grew wider when she saw him waiting for her.  
"Noah! It was so much fun! Miss Sylvester said I was, and I quote 'almost half decent, and if it weren't for the sloppy landings, I'd remind her of a young Sue Sylvester'! According to Santana, that's more praise than she's given anyone since Quinn tried out!"  
He was proud of her, and he told her as much, while he gave her the bouquet of flowers he'd picked up at the gas station before football practice.  
It wasn't exactly the prettiest bouquet she'd ever seen, its flowers slightly droopy from having being stored under the seat of his car (because he didn't want her to see them before he knew how it had gone) and the colours kind of washed out from having stood too long in the same water, but to her, they were more precious than gold.  
Her eyes were glittering with tears and happiness, all at once, as she got up on her toes and kissed him.  
"Thank you, Noah. No one has ever believed in me, the way you do!"

He just smiled and said "Ditto, babe."

It wasn't until after he'd dropped her off at her door (the goodbye-kiss came as naturally as breathing now and he didn't even try to press the matter anymore, because he knew she wouldn't have it. He also knew he'd see her soon and that kissing would only be part of the fun, so he was not complaining in the least. Not even when Rachel's neighbour, old Mrs Tierney stuck her head up over her hedge and coughed loudly until they separated.) that he even reflected on the fact that, once again and this time without even aiming for it, he had a Cheerio girlfriend. Or, you know. Whatever she was?

The thought that stuck in his brain wasn't the first, as you might have thought, considering his hormones and history. It was the latter.  
Was this the real deal? And in that case, did she think so too?

His mother cringed slightly at the sight of her son's frowned forehead and squared jaw. They were never good signs, but he just nodded at her, mussed his sister's hair and hung his jacket by the door (as in "did not just toss it to the floor, in the hopes that it'd magically hang itself or get hung by his mom.") before he went upstairs, saying he had to do homework.  
The Puckerman women stared at each other in disbelief.

He felt like he needed a break, so after he'd done his homework (yes. He actually did do them.) and taken a trip to the mall for a few errands like getting a slushie, buying dip and investing in a new set of earbuds for his iphone plus a few more stops here and there, he turned his phone off, before he drove home and spent the evening shooting aliens on his X-box and thinking.

So when the following day came, Rachel was a bit antsy.  
He swung by, same time as always, and their rituals played out the same way they had since he'd started taking her to school in the morning. They sat comfortably in silence for all about ten seconds before she anxiously asked him why he hadn't returned her calls. He just shrugged and told her that his phone had been out of juice.  
They could both hear the lie in his voice.

She said nothing else during the ride and by the time he pulled into the parking lot, the air in the truck was pretty tense. He turned to her and smiled while hastily caressing her cheek, but the smile didn't quite reach his eyes.  
"Listen, babe… It's nothing. Kay?"  
She offered one of her most radiant fake smiles and assured him that she was just fine, and that nothing was wrong at all. He nodded and got out of the car, but before he got over to the passenger side to lift her down, she was already on the ground.  
He cocked an eyebrow and grinned at her.  
"In a hurry somewhere?"

"No, I…"  
She fell silent and they entered school awkwardly hand in hand, while they both wished they knew what the other was thinking.

* * *

**Part 19 -** **staking his claim:**

Just as they reached her locker, Puck finally tossed caution to the wind. He caught Rachel around the waist and pulled her into his body and away from the streams of students that flowed into through the doors.  
"Fuck. I was gonna do this later, but I'm shitty when it comes to waiting."

Ice cold terror flew through Rachel's veins. She blamed herself. She should have known it was too good to be true, but she just hadn't thought it'd go down like this – not in public (he'd pretty much chosen the heaviest populated spot of WMHS and during rush hour too…!) and most certainly not after she'd been picked to be a Cheerio and Karofsky was out of the picture… She braced herself for the big break-up scene but was taken aback completely as he kissed her softly and when he spoke, she had to pause to understand what he was saying, because despite her excellent grasp of the English language, the words just didn't seem to compute.  
"Babe…"  
She stared wordlessly into his eyes, the lump in her throat keeping her from any kind of coherent reply aside from the slight nod she offered him while she tried to ignore the audience that buzzed around them, all the curious eyes and ears that were on them as he let go of her hand and dug his hand into the pocket of his jeans.

Inside Rachel's head, four words played themselves on a loop. "I will not cry". So far, she was doing good, her facial expressions blank and her eyes not giving away the discomfort and sudden loneliness that she felt. If she'd been able to speak, no one would have known.  
"Fuck. I should have paid more attention in English class…" he chuckled, hands dug deep into his pockets and shoulders squared, while his hazel eyes searched her face for something… She just didn't know what.

Just as she was about to scream or beg him to please end it, he nudged her towards her locker.  
"Just… Open it?"  
She hesitantly started twirling her combination into the lock, thankful for the excuse to turn her back on him and the curious crowd that seemed to never stop gathering. When her locker door swung open, her jaw dropped.  
Inside the confines of the metal box was a single red rose and a small package wrapped in shiny white paper, gold stars all over it. Noah's arms snaked around her waist as she stood silently, just watching the contents. She spun around.  
"You knew?"  
"Well… You're my girlfriend, right? Of course I know it's your birthday."  
His smile was like a sunrise after a storm and suddenly, she didn't care who was watching. Her lips found his and her tongue met his in a heated kiss that made him groan low into her mouth, and caused his hands to dig into her ass, pushing her towards him.  
They were interrupted by Santana's voice, loudly ringing out just behind them.  
"Get a fucking room. …but open that present first, B! I wanna know what he gotcha!"

Rachel felt light headed and realized that she'd forgotten to breathe, but she turned back to the locker, obediently unwrapping the small present, careful not to damage the beautiful wrapping paper.  
As she finally got the paper off, she held a small paper box in her hands and inside it, on a bed of white cotton, laid a small but delicate gold star on a gold chain. She held it up towards the light and admired the way the light caught in the one small pearl that was embedded in the star pendant and yet again, she was left without words, only for a completely different reason.

She could feel Noah's arms tensing up around her waist and she understood. Spinning around towards him, she allowed her tears to fill her eyes as she grazed him with a 100% natural smile, more radiant than any of her Broadway ones. He laughed, with happiness and relief, at the sight before bowing down to kiss her lips lightly and take the necklace away from her, fastening it around her slender waist instead.  
"Noah… I am…"  
"Speechless? And in public too, never thought that'd happen!"  
He winked exaggeratedly at her and she couldn't help but laugh at his silliness before they both grew serious again, their eyes locked and his hands in her hair, one of her hands resting lightly on his cheekbone and the other touching the gold star that hung just below that hollow at the base of her throat that he loved to kiss, as if she was afraid it'd disappear if she lost contact with it for one second.

"It is the most thoughtful thing anyone has ever done for me, Noah. Thank you!"  
He kissed her again, then, his eyes liquid and a ghost of a smile on his lips still when he raised his head and looked her straight in the eye.  
"It reminded me of you, Rachel."

* * *

**Part 20 – the end:**  
His way of saying her name was more than a word. It was little short of begging. Almost a prayer, but not quite. It sounded, to her, mostly like a plea. As if he were somehow appealing to her better judgement, but she figured that her better judgement had left her all those weeks back when she'd agreed to teach Finn a lesson by being the arm candy and pretend girlfriend of Noah Puckerman. The lesson, it turned out, was more likely to be one of their very own while all thoughts of Finn were left behind like a faded memory.

It didn't feel like pretending anymore. In fact, it hadn't for a very long time. Maybe it never did.

His eyes were sincere when he held her close, looked her in the eye and whispered sweet little nothings. She was almost sure he said that he loved her, as his fingers gently touched hers where they rested on the gold star, but she kind of shook the thought off. There was just no way – her ears and her mind had to be playing tricks on her.  
Teaming up to make her feel even more confused than before.

But then, there it was again, his soft lips descended on hers and his breath was a hot caress on her skin as he kissed her gently and breathed out, again  
"I love you, babe."

If this was a dream, Rachel Berry thought to herself, then no one dare pinching her because she really didn't feel like waking up. She captured his big strong hand in both of hers and drew a little heart on his skin with her fingernail while she tried to compose herself.  
It took all of her breathing exercises and all her voice training to keep her voice still and even, as she met his gaze and smiled.

"I love you too."


End file.
